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HE   IS   LIFTED   ON   THEIR   SHOULDERS    AND    BOUNE    DOWN    THE    ROAD  " 


CADET   DAYS 

H   Stors   of  West   point 


BY 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  KING,  U.S.A. 

AUTHOR  OF 

"A  WAR-TIME  WOOING"  "BETWEEN  THE  LINES" 
"CAMPAIGNING  WITH  CROOK"  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW    YORK 
HARPER  &  BROTHERS  PUBLISHERS 


BY  CAPTAIN  CHARLES  KING. 


A   WAR-TIME   WOOING.     Illustrated.     Post  Svo, 
Cloth,  $1  00. 

BETWEEN   THE    LINES.     Illustrated.     Post  Svo, 
Cloth,  $1  25. 

CAMPAIGNING  WITH  CROOK.    Illustrated.    Post 
Svo,  Cloth,  $1.25. 

CADET  DAYS.    Illustrated.    Post  Svo.  Cloth. 


V3T  For  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  will  be  sent  by  the 
publishers,  postage  prepaid,  to  an,]/  part  of  the  United 
States,  Canada,  or  Mexico,  on  receipt  of  the  price. 


Copyright,  1894,  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS. 


All  rights  reserved. 


TO 

A  MOTHER 

WHO  GAVE  HER  ONLY  SON  TO  OUR  ARMY,  WHO  LIVED  FOR  HIM 

THROUGH  TRIAL  TO  FINAL  TRIUMPH,  AND  WHO  EVEN  IN 

HER    SADDEST    DAYS,    BROUGHT    HOPE    TO    OTHER 

HEARTS  AND  SUNSHINE  TO  OTHER   HOMES 

THIS   STORY   OF    CADET   LIFE 

Us  Enscrfbeti 


M12557 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


"HE    IS     LIFTED     ON    THEIR    SHOULDERS    AND    BORNE 

DOWN  THE  ROAD" Frontispiece 

"  FOLLOWING    A    GUIDE    WHO    KNEW    EVSRY    INCH    OF 

THE  WAY" Facing  page  16 

" A  SENTRY  GLANCED  AT  HIM  KEENLY  "     .     .     .     .  "  "  30 

THE  AWKWARD  SQUAD "  "  40 

PLEBE  DRILL "  "  68 

"  '  TAKE  THAT  ONE,  THEN,'  SAID  MR.  LEONARD  "  .     .  "  "  66 
"THE  COLONEL  GLANCED  QUICKLY  ALONG  THE  POL 
ISHED  WEAPON  " "  "  86 

ON  GUARD  DUTY "  "  92 

"'WHO    COMES   THERE?'" "  "104 

"WOODS'S   FRIEND    APPEARED    AT    THE    TENT    DOOR"   .  "  "  116 

u  '  MR.  ROSS,  YOU  ARE  HEREBY  PLACED  IN  CLOSE  AR 
REST '"  "  "  130 

TURNING    OUT    OF   THE    GUARD "  "  136 

"  THE  RIFLE  WAS  BROUGHT  IN  BY  A  DRUM-BOY  OR 
DERLY "  "  u  146 

"'YOU  ARE  WANTED  AT  ONCE  AT  THE  COURT-ROOM'"  "  "  158 

" '  I  WANT  YOU  TO  COME  AND  WALK  WITH  ME,' 

CONNELL  SAID" "  "  180 

ENFORCED  TRAMP  IN  THE  AREA  ON  SATURDAY  AF 
TERNOONS  "  "  184 

"  '  I'LL  TAKE  NO  MORE  DKMERIT  ON  OTHER  MEN'S 

ACCOUNT'" "  «  190 

INSPECTION "  "  194 

'"WON'T  YOU  SHAKE  HANDS?'"  .     .     .     .  "  "  202 


VI 


ON  SPECIAL  DUTY  OVER  PLEBES Facing  page  208 

"THE  CADET  CAPTAIN  BEOAN  ins  INSPECTION"  .  .  "  "  216 
"  THE  SKIRMISH  DRILLS  WERE  FULL  OF  SPIRIT  AND 

INTEREST  " "  "  224 

"  '  BUT  IT'S  PROUD  I  AM  TO  SALUTE  YE,  SIR,'  SAID 

THE  VETERAN  " "  "  232 

"GEORDIE,  AMES,  AND  CONNELL  WENT  OVER  TO  LOOK 

ON  AND  HEAR  THE  MUSIC " "  "  246 

"AND  SEE  HER  BOY  AT  THE  HEAD  OF  THE  FIRST 

PLATOON" "       "      288 


CADET   DATS: 

A  STORY  OF  WEST  POINT 


CHAPTER  I 


"  POPS,  there's  no  use  talking ;  we've  simply  got 
to  send  you  to  the  Point." 

"  I'm  sure  I  wish  you  could,  Colonel.  Father's 
tried  every  way  he  could  think  of,  but  cadetships 
don't  go  a-begging  —  out  here,  at  least.  The 
President  has  only  one  or  two  'at  large'  ap 
pointments  this  year,  and  there  were  over  a 
thousand  applications  for  them." 

"  "Well,  have  you  tried  Mr.  Pierce,  the  Con 
gressman  for  this  district?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  sir,  tried  him  long  ago.  He  was 
very  polite — Congressmen  always  are.  He  asked 
me  to  go  round  and  get  all  the  signatures  to  my 
application  I  possibly  could,  and  kept  me  running 
for  six  weeks  or  so.  Then  he  gave  it  to  Mr. 
Breifogle's  son." 

Colonel  Belknap  smiled.     "Yes,,  I  remember 


bearing,"  said-he,  reflectively,  tapping  his  spurred 
boot-heel  with  his  riding-switch  and  critically 
eying  ""the  sturdy'  young  fellow  who  stood  re 
spectfully  before  him.  George  Graham,  the  post 
surgeon's  eldest  son,  was  just  seventeen,  of  me 
dium  height,  wiry  and  athletic  in  build,  with 
deep  chest  and  broad  shoulders,  with  close-curl 
ing  brown  hair,  with  big,  frank,  steady  blue 
eyes,  and  a  complexion  that  was  probably  fair 
enough  in  his  baby  days,  but  now  was  so  tanned 
by  sun  and  wind  that  the  down  just  sprout 
ing  on  his  cheeks  and  upper  lip  seemed  almost 
white  by  contrast.  A  picture  of  boyish  health, 
strength,  and  activity  was  "Geordie,"  as  his 
mother  ever  called  him  in  vain  protest  against 
the  familiar  "  Pops  "  by  which  he  was  generally 
hailed — a  pet  name  given  him  by  the  officers 
when  he  was  but  a  "  four-year-old,"  far  out  in 
Arizona — a  boy  who  had  been  reared  in  the  West, 
whose  first  playmate  was  a  wild  little  Apache, 
whose  earliest  friends  were  the  rough  troopers 
at  an  isolated  station ;  a  boy  who  had  been  taught 
to  hunt  and  trail  and  shoot  the  Indian  arrow  be 
fore  he  was  nine ;  who  had  ridden  "  pony-back  " 
across  the  continent  from  Arizona  to  Kansas  with 
a  cavalry  column  before  he  was  ten;  who  had 
stalked  an  antelope  along  the  Smoky  Hill  before 
he  was  twelve ;  who  had  shot  a  black  bear  in  the 
Yellowstone  Mountains  when  he  was  only  fif- 


teen ;  and  raced  a  buffalo  bull  into  the  fords  of 
Milk  River  within  sight  of  the  British  possessions 
across  latitude  49  within  the  following  year.  He 
had  met  and  mingled  with  Indians  of  many  a 
tribe.  He  had  picked  up  something  of  the 
Apache  tongue  from  his  playmate  Dick ;  had  vis 
ited  the  Navajo  Reservation,  near  old  Fort  Defi 
ance,  in  New  Mexico,  and  brought  away  as  his 
very  own  one  of  their  wonderful  woven  blankets.. 
He  had  learned  not  a  little  of  the  sign-language, 
and  so  was  able  to  communicate  and  make  him 
self  understood  among  even  the  Cheyenne  ur 
chins  around  Fort  Supply.  After  that  his  father 
had  been  stationed  just  long  enough  at  Niobrara 
to  enable  Geordie  to  feel  quite  at  home  among 
the  Ogallala  and  Brule  Sioux,  whose  reservations 
were  just  across  the  Dakota  line,  and  whose  vis 
its  to  the  post  were  frequent.  Then  the  doctor 
was  ordered  far  up  to  Fort  Assiniboine,  where 
Pops  expected  to  freeze,  but  found  the  summer 
days  as  hot  as  they  were  in  Arizona,  and  the  mos 
quitoes  worse  than  they  were  at  Supply.  There 
he  studied  the  Northern  Indians,  and  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  Blackfeet  and  Gros-Ven- 
tres  could  not  be  compared  favorably  with  the 
lithe  and  sinewy  and  marvellously  active  Indians 
of  Arizona.  Geordie  swore  by  the  Apaches. 
There  were  no  trailers  like  the  Tontos ;  no  bow 
men  or  ball-players  like  the  Hualpais.  The  Sioux 


and  Cheyennes  could  ride,  perhaps,  but  all  the 
Sioux  in  Dakota  could  not  whip  Eskeldetsee's 
band  "if  you  put  'em  in  the  mountains" — which 
was  probably  true.  And  so  by  the  time  he  was 
seventeen  Geordie  had  ridden,  marched,  or  trav 
elled  by  ambulance,  stage,  or  rail  through  most 
of  the  great  Western  States  and  Territories ;  but 
from  the  time  he  was  four  years  old  he  had  never 
been  east  of  Omaha,  or  set  foot  in  the  streets  of 
a  bigger  town  than  Cheyenne. 

Nor  had  he  ever  regularly  attended  any  school. 
There  were  no  schools  to  speak  of  near  any  of 
the  garrisons  at  which  his  father  was  stationed ; 
but  Dr.  Graham  was  a  man  of  scholarly  tastes, 
a  graduate  of  a  famous  university  in  Scotland, 
and  one  who  by  faithful  study  kept  abreast  of 
the  leading  minds  in  his  profession.  People  gen 
erally  led  a  very  healthful  open-air  life  on  the 
broad  Western  frontier,  and  Dr.  Graham  had  few 
patients  to  claim  his  time.  He  planned,  there 
fore,  all  the  studies  for  his  two  boys,  he  himself 
hearing  them  recite  in  history,  geography,  and 
arithmetic,  while  their  devoted  mother,  at  whose 
knee  they  had  successively  learned  their  A  B  C's, 
and  whose  fragile  white  hand  had  guided  their 
chubby  fists  in  the  tracing  of  their  first  pot 
hooks,  was  their  instructor  in  the  other  rudi 
ments. 

Eegularly,  five  mornings  a  week,  the  little  fel- 


lows  were  set  at  their  books  right  after  guard- 
mounting,  and,  with  brief  intermission,  worked 
until  the  bugles  sounded  "orderly  call,"  or  the 
drums  and  fifes  merrily  played  "  Roast  Beef  of 
Old  England  "  at  noon.  No  wonder  they  learned 
to  welcome  that  call.  Then  they  had  their  fru 
gal  luncheon.  The  doctor  was  a  stanch  Scotch 
man,  who  believed  that  boyish  brawn  and  brain 
throve  better  on  "parritch"  and  milk  than  on 
any  other  pabulum.  Think  of  boys  who  never 
knew  the  taste  of  candy  until  after  they  were 
twelve— to  whom  hot  biscuit  was  forbidden,  and 
tea  and  coffee  tabooed !  They  grew  up  ruddy- 
cheeked,  freckle-faced,  clear-eyed,  sturdy-limbed, 
burly  young  "  Hielanders,"  with  marvellous  ca 
pacity  for  solid  food,  sound  sleep,  and  active 
sports.  They  were  better  taught  than  most 
of  the  other  children  around  the  garrisons,  for 
what  they  knew  they  knew  well.  The  three 
years'  difference  in  their  ages  gave  "Pops,"  of 
course,  too  much  advantage  in  their  boyish  tiffs 
and  scuifl.es ;  for  boys  will  romp  and  wrestle,  just 
as  puppies  play  and  kittens  frolic,  and  these,  start 
ing  in  fun,  close  sometimes  in  fury ;  but  they  for 
get  the  feud  as  quickly  as  it  was  begun.  Pops 
learned  at  an  early  age  the  lesson  of  self-restraint, 
the  law  of  forbearance  towards  the  younger  and 
weaker  brother.  It  was  not  learned  intuitively, 
perhaps,  but  rather  the  reverse.  The  doctor  was 


of  a  famous  old  Scotch  Presbyterian  clan,  with 
a  wholesome  faith  in  Calvin  and  the  doctrine  of 
original  sin.      His  gentle  wife  had  thought  to 
convert  her  eldest  hope  by  appeals  to  his  finer 
nature,  but  the  doctor  held  that  there  was  just 
so  much  of  the  "  thrawn  deevil "  in  every  boy 
that  had  to  be  trounced  out  of  him.     It  was  all 
very  well  for  Pops  to  tussle  with  his  Apache 
playmate,  and  come  home  covered  with  dirt  and 
bumps  and  glory,  and  explosive  with  tremendous 
tales  of  his  personal  valor  — Pops  would  brag 
when  he  was  young,  and  many  another  boy 
would  have  done  the  same  under  like  conditions 
—but  he  was  too  big  and  strong  for  "  Buddie ;" 
and  so  when  Bud  came  roaring  in  one  day  to  tell 
how  "  Pops  f  wowed  me  down  and  hit  me,"  Pops 
owned  up  that  it  was  true.     Bud  would  meddle 
with  what  he  and  Dick  were  trying  to  make, 
and  he  "just  pushed  him  away."    Mamma  grave 
ly  admonished  ;  but  papa  gave  warning.     It  hap 
pened  again  before  very  long,  and  this  time  the 
doctor  took  Pops  into  his  den,  and  presently  poor 
Mrs.  Graham  ran  to  the  dining-room  and  covered 
her  ears,  and  Buddie  howled  in  sudden  revulsion 
of  feeling.    The  doctor  seldom  punished,  but  what 
his  right  hand  found  to  do  he  did  with  all  his 
might. 

"  I  want  you  to  remember  this,  George,"  said 
he,  half  an  hour  later,  "  a  manly  boy  must  be 


merciful.  It  isn't  enough  that  you  should  make 
allowances  for  Buddie's  blunders,  you  must  be 
lenient  to  his  faults.  When  he  is  older  he  will 
be  wiser.  Meantime,  the  blows  you  strike  must 
be  for,  not  against  him." 

He  needn't  have  said  that.  Pops  was  far 
readier  to  fight  for  his  younger  brother  than  he 
was  to  worry  him  in  the  least,  and  he  took  his 
flogging  sorely  to  heart.  He  was  only  ten  at 
the  time.  Bud  had  tried  him  severely.  He  had 
begged  the  little  fellow  to  desist,  and  finally, 
losing  all  patience,  had  violated  orders  and 
thumped  him — not  very  hard,  perhaps,  but  still 
hard  enough  to  warrant  half  at  least  of  the  piti 
ful  tale  the  smaller  boy  ran  to  tell  at  once  and 
at  home.  Geordie  felt  very  much  aggrieved  at 
Bud  when  sent  forth  finally  to  go  to  his  room 
and  meditate  on  his  sins  and  nurse  his  many  sore 
spots ;  but  when  he  saw  the  misery  in  the  little 
fellow's  face,  when  Bud,  with  fresh  outburst  of 
tears,  threw  himself  into  his  brother's  arms,  clung 
to  him  sobbing,  and  could  not  say  for  the  very 
violence  of  his  grief  how  he  hated  himself  for 
telling,  the  reconciliation  was  complete,  and  the 
three — mother  and  boys — stole  away  up -stairs 
and  had  a  hug  and  cry  together  all  by  themselves, 
and  came  down  again  an  hour  later  much  hap 
pier  after  all,  and  quite  ready  to  make  it  up  with 
papa.  But  the  doctor  wasn't  there.  He  had 


slipped  out,  despite  the  fact  of  its  being  his 
study  hour,  and  was  found  at  tea-time  miserably 
promenading  the  bank  of  the  stream  half  a  mile 
from  the  post,  and  quite  unconscious  that  the 
evening  gun  had  fired.  He  never  whipped 
Pops  again ;  indeed,  the  boy  gave  him  no  cause 
to;  and  he  never  thrashed  Buddie,  even  when 
that  unrepentant  little  sinner  well  deserved  it. 
He  even  declined  to  reprimand  Pops  at  the 
excited  appeal  of  Mrs.  Captain  Yaughan,  whose 
twelve-year-old  son  came  home  from  the  swim 
ming-pool,  five  days  after,  with  a  battered  coun 
tenance,  and  a  complaint  that  he  had  been  beaten 
without  cause  by  Pops  Graham.  Investigation 
of  the  case  resulted  in  the  fact  that  young 
Vaughan  was  trying  to  duck  Buddie,  when  the 
latter's  big  brother  happened  upon  the  scene. 
Between  the  doctor  and  his  boys  there  grew  up 
a  sort  of  tacit  understanding,  a  firmly  grounded 
trust  and  affection,  that  seldom  found  vent  in 
caress  of  any  kind,  and  was  rarely  apparent  in 
word.  George  shot  up  from  sturdy  boyhood 
into  athletic  youth  with  thorough  faith  in  his 
father,  who,  he  believed,  was  the  best  friend  he 
had  or  could  expect  to  have.  With  all  his  heart 
he  honored  him,  and  with  all  his  soul  he  loved 
his  mother. 

And  now  they  were    stationed  at  Fort  Key- 
nolds,  with  a  thriving  Western  mining  metropolis 


just  six  miles  away  to  the  east,  with  hunting  and 
fishing  in  the  lofty  mountains  to  the  west,  and  a 
great  tumbling  sea  of  grassy  prairie  stretching 
away  to  the  east  and  south.  Geordie's  pony  had 
been  turned  over  to  Bud  long  months  ago,  for 
the  bigger  boy  could  back  and  ride  and  control 
the  liveliest  bucker  among  all  the  bronchos  in 
the  cavalry  stables.  Officers  and  troopers  alike 
declared  that  Pops  was  cut  out  for  the  cavalry. 
He  loved  a  horse.  He  had  broken  and  trained 
his  last  possession,  a  "cayuse"  colt  from  the  herd 
of  old  Two  Moons,  chief  of  the  northern  Chey- 
ennes.  He  had  ridden  and  hunted  by  himself, 
or  with  a  single  trooper  for  a  companion,  all 
through  the  mountains  that  frowned  across  the 
western  sky,  rarely  coming  home  without  an 
abundant  supply  of  venison  or  bear  meat,  and 
still  faithfully  kept  up  his  studies,  hoping  that 
by  some  good-fortune  he  might  succeed  in  get 
ting  an  appointment  to  the  great  Military  Acad 
emy  of  the  nation — hoping  almost  against  hope, 
yet  never  desponding.  At  last  it  came,  and  this 
was  the  way  of  it. 

Just  as  the  wintry  winds  began  to  blow, 
and  the  soldiers,  turning  out  for  roll-call  at 
the  break  of  day,  began  to  note  how  the  moun 
tains  seemed  to  be  wearing  their  fleecy  night 
caps  farther  down  about  their  ears  until  the 
bald  peaks  were  covered  with  a  glistening,  spot- 


less  helmet,  and  the  dark  fringes  of  pine  and  fir 
down  among  the  gorges  and  foot-hills  looked  all 
the  blacker  by  contrast,  there  came  a  fresh  bat 
talion  of  cavalry  marching  into  the  post  to  re 
lieve  the  —  — th  just  ordered  away,  and  Pops  had 
sadly  bidden  adieu  to  the  departing  troops,  little 
dreaming  what  warm  friends  he  was  destined  to 
find  among  the  new.  First  to  arrive,  with  a 
single  orderly  in  attendance,  was  the  regimental 
quartermaster,  Lieutenant  Kalph  McCrea,  and  to 
him  said  the  quartermaster  whom  McCrea  was 
to  relieve : 

"  Mac,  this  young  gentleman  is  Dr.  Graham's 
son  George,  our  candidate  for  West  Point.  He 
knows  plainscraft,  woodcraft,  and  mountain  scout 
ing  as  well  as  you  do  mathematics.  He  can  ride 
as  well  as  any  man  in  my  troop.  Give  him  a 
lift  in  algebra  and  ( math.,'  and  he'll  teach  you 
all  there  is  worth  knowing  about  this  part  of 
the  country." 

The  kindly  young  West -Pointer  seemed  to 
take  at  once  to  the  surgeon's  blushing  boy.  In 
the  wintry  weather  that  speedily  set  in  there 
was  little  opportunity  for  hunting  or  explora 
tion  in  the  mountains ;  but  in  the  long  evenings 
McCrea  became  a  frequent  visitor  at  Dr.  Graham's 
fireside,  and  finding  that  Pops  had  a  sound  ana 
lytical  sort  of  brain  in  his  curly  pate,  the  quar 
termaster  took  delight  in  giving  him  stiff  prob- 


11 


lems  to  work  out,  and  taught  him  the  West 
Point  system  of  deducing  rules  instead  of  blindly 
following  without  knowing  why  or  wherefore ; 
and  the  friendship  between  them  waxed  and 
multiplied,  and  McCrea  became  warmly  enlisted 
in  the  effort  to  secure  a  vacant  cadetship  for  his 
boy  friend.  But  knowing  there  was  no  chance 
"  at  large,"  as  the  President  had  already  named 
his  two  candidates,  the  boy  had  done  his  best 
with  the  local  Congressman,  who,  as  Pops  had 
said,  had  been  most  gracious  and  encouraging, 
but  had  bestowed  the  plum  upon  the  son  of  his 
rich  and  influential  constituent,  Mr.  Breifogle, 
whose  brewery  gave  employment  to  over  fifty 
voters.  As  alternate  he  had  named  the  son  of 
Counsellor  Murphy,  a  lively  local  politician,  and 
Pop's  hopes  Avere  dashed. 

Not  so  McCrea's.  As  quartermaster  his  duties 
called  him  frequently  into  town,  where  the  First 
National  Bank  was  the  depository,  and  where  he 
kept  the  large  fund  appropriated  for  rebuilding 
stables  and  quarters  that  had  been  destroyed  by 
fire  the  previous  year.  "  Neither  of  those  young 
fellows,"  said  he  to  Dr.  Graham,  "  can  pass  the 
preliminary  examination.  It  is  by  long  odds 
too  stiff  for  Breifogle  mentally  and  for  Murphy 
physically.  Keep  this  to  ourselves,  and  get  Mr. 
Pierce  to  promise  that  George  shall  have  the 
next  vacancy.  If  we  can  get  the  Colonel  to  ask 


12 


it,  Pierce  will  say  yes,  perhaps ;  first  because  they 
served  together  in  Virginia  during  the  war,  and 
second  because  he  won't  think  he's  promising 
anything  at  all.  It's  his  first  term,  and  he  doesn't 
dream  how  hard  that  examination  is,  or  how  cer 
tain  Breif ogle  is  to  fail.  Now,  if  there  were  only 
some  way  we  could  <  get  a  pull '  on  him." 

The  way  came  sooner  than  was  looked  or  hoped 
for.  One  December  afternoon,  just  as  the  lights 
were  peeping  out  here  and  there  in  the  bustling 
shops  of  the  busy  Western  town,  and  a  thick, 
heavy  cloud  of  snow  was  settling  noiselessly  upon 
roof  and  roadway,  and  all  the  foot-hills  to  the 
west  were  robed  in  white,  and  all  the  mountain 
passes  deep  in  drifts,  and  the  managers  of  the 
First  National  were  congratulating  themselves 
that  their  collections  in  the  swarming  mining 
settlements  across  the  range  were  complete,  and 
the  thousands  in  coin  and  greenbacks  safely 
hoarded  in  their  vaults,  and  brewer  Breifogle 
and  two  other  opulent  directors  were  seated 
with  the  president  in  the  bank  parlor,  rubbing 
their  hands  over  the  neat  balance  exhibited,  and 
discussing  the  propriety  of  a  congratulatory  de 
spatch  to  Congressman  Pierce,  now  at  his  post  of 
duty  at  "Washington,  and  the  paying-teller  had 
just  completed  the  summing  up  of  his  cash  ac 
count,  and  the  bookkeeper  was  stowing  away  his 
huge  volumes,  and  a  clerk  was  lugging  sacks  of 


13 


coin  and  stacks  of  Treasury  notes  into  the  open 
door  of  the  vault,  under  the  vigilant  eye  of  the 
cashier,  and  the  janitor  had  pulled  down  the 
shades  and  barred  the  iron  shutters,  and  ev 
erything  spoke  eloquently  of  business  security 
and  prosperity — in  stepped  a  squad  of  velvet- 
footed,  soft-voiced,  slouch-hatted  strangers,  and 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  cashier  and  clerk, 
tellers,  book-keeper,  and  janitor  were  as  com 
pletely  covered  by  six-shooters  as  the  new 
comers  were  with  snow.  It  was  a  clear  case  of 
"  hands  up,  everybody."  Two  of  the  party  sidled 
into  the  parlor  and  stood  guard  over  the  mag 
nates,  three  or  four  held  the  outer  officials  in 
statuesque  discomfort,  while  two  deft-handed  in 
dividuals  loaded  up  with  bills  and  bags  of  gold, 
and  vanished  softly  as  they  came.  Their  com 
rades  gave  them  a  start  of  sixty  seconds,  and 
then  slowly  and  calmly  backed  out  into  the 
street,  revolvers  levelled  to  the  last,  and  in  less 
than  four  minutes  from  the  moment  of  their 
entrance  not  one  of  the  gang  was  in  sight. 
Timing  their  arrival  exactly,  they  had  ridden 
into  town  from  the  northwest  just  at  dusk,  left 
their  strong,  spirited  horses,  held  by  accomplices 
in  a  side  street  not  fifty  yards  away ;  were  in  and 
out,  up  and  away  again,  in  less  time  than  it  takes 
to  tell  it,  and  with  them  ninety  thousand  dollars 
in  cash. 


14 


Vain  the  rush  of  clerks  and  tellers  and  direc 
tors  into  the  snow-covered  street.  Yain  the  yells 
of  "Murder!"  "Robbers!"  "  Eoad  -  agents !"  A 
crowd  collected  in  a  few  minutes,  but  all  were 
afoot  and  powerless  to  follow.  It  would  be  an 
hour  before  the  sheriff  could  muster  a  mounted 
party  strong  enough  to  pursue ;  but  he  had  his 
wits  about  him. 

"  It's  the  old  Hatton  gang,  sure !"  he  cried. 
"  They  dare  not  go  to  the  mines.  They'll  make 
for  Marcy's  Pass,  and  scatter  when  they  get  to 
the  cove  beyond.  There's  only  one  hope."  And 
like  a  deer  the  active  frontiersman  ran  to  the 
telegraph  office. 

"Rush  this  out  to  the  fort!"  he  cried,  as  he. 
pencilled  a  despatch. 

"  First  National  just  robbed  by  Hatton  gang. 
Ten  men.  Ninety  thousand  gone.  Government 
funds  mostly.  ["That  '11  make  him  act,"  he 
muttered.]  They're  making  for  Marcy's  Pass. 
You  can  head  'em  off  by  Squaw  Canon  if  you 
send  cavalry  at  once.  We  follow  trail.  Answer. 

"  BEBNT,  Sheriff." 

Colonel  Belknap,  with  a  knot  of  officers,  was 
in  the  club-room  just  after  stables  when  the  de 
spatch  was  handed  to  him  by  the  breathless  oper 
ator.  He  was  an  old  campaigner,  who  had  served 
almost  a  lifetime  in  the  West. 


15 


"  Mount  your  troop  instantly,  Lane !"  he  called 
to  one  of  his  most  trusted  captains.  "Never 
mind  their  supper;  they  can  have  that  later. 
Listen  to  this."  And  he  read  the  despatch  aloud. 

The  entrance  to  Marcy's  Pass  lay  about  nine 
miles  nearly  due  west  from  town.  Hatch's  Cove 
was  a  lovely  nook  in  the  summer  -  time,  but  al 
most  inaccessible  in  winter,  lying  across  the  range, 
and  approached  from  the  east  by  the  old  road 
through  the  Pass.  Lance  Creek,  a  clear  and 
beautiful  stream,  rose  in  the  cove  and  made  its 
way  through  the  range  by  means  of  a  tortuous 
and  wellnigh  impassable  gorge  known  as  Squaw 
Canon,  which  opened  into  the  foot-hills  not  more 
than  two  miles  and  a  half  away  to  the  westward 
of  Fort  Eeynolds.  All  this  was  promptly  dis 
cussed  even  as  the  sergeants'  voices  could  be 
heard  ringing  out  the  order  in  the  barrack  cor 
ridors  across  the  parade. 

"  Turn  out,  '  E '  troop,  lively ;  carbines  and  re 
volvers,  fur  coats  and  gloves.  Jump  now,  men !" 

Down  went  knife  and  fork,  cup  and  spoon. 
Up  sprang  the  laughing,  chaffing,  boisterous 
crowd  of  the  moment  before.  Away  they  tore 
to  their  bunk-room,  and  grabbed  their  great-coats 
and  furs ;  away  to  the  arm-racks  for  carbine  and 
six  -  shooter.  Quickly  they  buckled  the  broad 
woven  cartridge-belts,  and  then  went  bounding 
down  the  barrack  stairs,  forming  ranks  in  the 


16 


softly  falling  snow.  Double  time  they  trotted 
down  to  the  long,  dimly  lighted  stables,  and  in 
among  their  astonished  and  snorting  horses.  In 
ten  minutes  they  were  trotting  away  to  the  west 
ward  through  wellnigh  impenetrable  darkness, 
through  a  muffling  snowfall,  over  an  unseen 
and  unknown  trail,  yet  hesitating  not  a  minute ; 
trotting  buoyantly,  confidently  ahead,  following 
a  guide  who  knew  every  inch  of  the  way  to  and 
through  the  canon  and  miles  and  miles  beyond. 

"  Who  can  lead  them  ?  What  scouts  have  you 
on  your  roll  who  know  the  hills  ?"  was  the  Colo 
nel's  anxious  query  of  his  quartermaster,  while 
the  troop  was  saddling. 

"  No  scouts  left,  sir,  now  ;  but  we  don't  need 
them.  Here's  Geordie  Graham." 

Yes,  Pops,  and  the  doctor  too,  both  in  saddle 
and  ready ;  so  was  McCrea,  and  so  it  happened 
that  less  than  an  hour  later  Luke  and  Jim  Hat- 
ton,  leaders  of  the  band,  bearers  of  most  of  the 
spoil,  a  hundred  yards  ahead  of  their  fellows  as 
they  issued  from  the  westward  end  of  Marcy's 
Pass,  deeming  themselves  perfectly  secure  from 
any  capture  except  from  the  rear,  ten  safe  miles 
away  from  town,  rode  slap  in  among  a  whole 
troop  of  cavalry,  and  were  knocked  on  the  head, 
disarmed,  dismounted,  and  relieved  of  their  plun 
der  before  they  could  fire  a  shot  or  utter  a  cry 
of  warning. 


"  FOLLOWING    A   GUIDE    WHO    KNEW    EVERY    INCH   OP   THE    WAY  " 


17 


"We  never  could  have  got  them  in  all  the 
w-orld,  sir,"  said  both  Lane  and  McCrea,  "  but 
for  Pops  here.  He  knew  the  way,  even  in  the 
dark,  and  we  headed  them  off  in  the  nick  of 
time." 

It  was  this  service  that  called  forth  Colonel 
Belknap's  remarks  at  the  head  of  this  chapter. 
It  was  this  that  prompted  him  to  say  to  the 
officers  of  the  First  National  next  day  that  the 
least  they  could  do  was  to  telegraph  the  Hon 
orable  Mr.  Pierce,  M.C.,  urging  him  to  promise 
that  the  next  vacancy  at  West  Point  should  be 
filled  by  George  Montrose  Graham.  It  was  the 
despatch  signed  by  these  officials  and  a  dozen 
leading  citizens — for  McCrea  struck  while  the 
iron  was  hot,  and  took  the  paper  around  himself— 
that  caused  Mr.  Pierce  to  wire  his  pledge  in  re 
ply.  And  one  day  in  February  there  came  a 
note  to  Dr.  Graham's,  saying  that  Counsellor 
Murphy  had  been  convinced  by  the  leading 
medical  practitioner  in  town  that  his  boy  could 
never  pass  the  physical  examination  at  the  Point, 
and  would  better  be  turning  his  talents  to  some 
other  channel,  and  then  Colonel  Belknap  re 
minded  Mr.  Pierce  of  his  promise,  and  Pierce 
was  caught.  On  Valentine's  Day  in  188-,  to 
Geordie  Graham's  speechless  joy  and  Buddie's 
enthusiastic  delight,  a  big  official  envelope  of 
the  War  Department  was  placed  in  the  former's 


18 


hand.  He  knew  what  it  meant.  He  went  over 
and  threw  his  arms  around  his  mother's  neck 
and  bent  and  kissed  her,  for  her  loving  eyes 
were  swimming  in  tears. 


CHAPTER  H 

AMONG  the  formal  official  documents  in  the 
envelope  which  brought  such  delight  to  the 
Graham  family  was  one  giving  in  detail  the 
qualifications  necessary  to  secure  the  admission 
of  a  candidate  to  West  Point.  He  was  sub 
jected  soon  after  his  arrival,  so  said  the  papers, 
to  a  rigid  physical  examination  by  a  board  of 
experienced  surgeons.  Glancing  over  the  array 
of  causes  of  disqualification,  it  was  apparent  to 
the  doctor  that  an  absolutely  perfect  physique 
was  necessary,  but  on  all  these  points  he  felt 
well  assured.  As  to  other  qualifications,  the  age 
for  admission  of  cadets  to  the  Academy  was 
stated  to  be  between  seventeen  and  twenty-two 
years.  Candidates  must  be  unmarried,  at  least 
five  feet  in  height,  free  from  any  infectious  or 
immoral  disorder,  and  generally  from  any  de 
formity,  disease,  or  infirmity  which  might  in  the 
faintest  degree  render  them  unfit  for  military 
service.  They  must  be  well  versed  in  reading, 
in  writing,  including  orthography,  in  arithmetic, 
and  have  a  knowledge  of  the  elements  of  Eng 
lish  grammar,  of  descriptive  geography,  particu- 


20 


larly  of  our  own  country,  and  of  the  history  of 
the  United  States.  That  seemed  simple  enough. 
On  all  these  points  Geordie,  as  well  as  his  father, 
had  no  doubt  whatever.  "  Sound  as  a  dollar" 
was  the  universal  verdict,  and  the  wisdom  of  his 
father's  rigid  system  of  training  was  all  the  more 
apparent.  But  when  they  came  to  look  over 
the  formidable  list  of  specimens  of  the  problems 
and  questions  which  the  candidates  were  required 
to  solve  and  answer,  the  boy's  heart  failed  him 
a  little.  Even  McCrea  shook  his  head  over  some 
of  them. 

"  It  is  ten  years  since  I  went  up  for  my  exam 
ination,  just  as  you  are  to  go,  Pops — an  army 
boy  who  had  had  precious  little  schooling ;  but 
I  don't  remember  any  problems  as  hard  as  this 
one.''  And  the  Quartermaster  wrinkled  his  brows 
over  a  complicated  example,  while  Captain  Lane, 
poring  over  a  big  atlas,  was  hunting  for  a  chain 
of  mountains  he  could  not  remember  ever  before 
having  heard  of. 

"  It  seems  a  queer  confession,"  said  the  latter, 
"  but  I  don't  believe  I  could  begin  to  pass  the  en 
trance  examination  to  the  Academy,  from  which 
I  was  graduated  so  many  years  ago.  I  certainly 
couldn't  without  months  of  preparation." 

The  Colonel  suggested  that  perhaps  these  hard 
nuts  were  ladled  out  in  order  to  stimulate  the 
candidate  to  closer  study.  The  questions  really 


21 


propounded  would  not  be  so  difficult.  But  the 
doctor  and  McCrea  were  determined  to  take  no 
chances. 

"  There  are  only  three  months  left  for  prepa 
ration,"  said  Graham;  "the  question  is  how  to 
employ  the  time  to  best  advantage.  George  is 
willing  to  study  hard,  and  you  and  I  to  teach, 
but  what  I'm  thinking  is  that  we  may  be  wast 
ing  time  on  immaterial  points  and  neglecting 
some  that  are  essential.  Would  it  not  be  best  to 
send  him  on  and  have  him  study  under  some  one 
who  knows  just  exactly  what  is  needed  ?" 

And  McCrea  said,  "  Yes,"  and  wrote  forthwith 
to  an  old  friend,  an  officer  whom  severe  wounds 
had  incapacitated  for  active  service,  and  who 
had  opened  a  school  of  preparation  at  the  Point 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  candidates  for  admission. 
And  so  it  resulted  that  early  in  April,  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life,  Geordie  Graham  was  to 
leave  father,  mother,  and  Bud,  and,  for  the  first 
time  since  he  was  a  mere  baby-boy,  to  set  foot 
across  the  Missouri. 

Over  that  farewell  we  need  not  linger.  How 
many  big,  salty  tears  were  dropped  into  the 
depths  of  the  trunk  no  one  on  earth  but  the  lov 
ing  mother  who  packed  it  could  ever  tell.  Yet 
even  now,  face  to  face  with  the  inevitable  sepa 
ration,  not  one  word  would  she  say  that  might 
cast  a  shadow  over  the  hopes  of  her  big  boy,  as 


she  spoke  of  Geordie  as  a  means  of  distinguish 
ing  him  from  Bud,  her  "little  Benjamin."  Fond 
ly  had  she  hoped  that  as  he  grew  older  Geordie' s 
tastes  would  turn  to  some  other  profession,  but 
she  hoped  in  vain.  First,  last,  and  all  the  time, 
ever  since  the  troopers  at  Yerde  decorated  him 
with  his  Corporal's  chevrons  when  he  was  a  mite 
of  a  four-year-old,  the  longing  of  his  heart  was 
to  be  a  soldier.  For  boys  with  that  ambition 
there  is  no  school  like  West  Point ;  for  boys  with 
out  it,  any  other  school  would  be  better. 

"  There  isn't  a  man  in  all  '  E '  troop  that  isn't 
sorry  to  have  you  leave  the  fort,  Geordie,"  said 
old  Sergeant  Nolan,  as  the  boy  went  the  rounds 
at  afternoon  stables,  bidding  his  friends  good 
bye,  and  taking  a  farewell  look  at  'his  favorite 
horses ;  "  but  what's  more,  sir,"  he  added,  with  a 
respectful  touch  of  the  cap  visor  as  Captain  Lane 
appeared,  "  there  isn't  a  man  but  that's  glad  he's 
going  to  West  Point,  and  that  wouldn't  like  to 
see  him  with  us  again  as  our  Lieutenant." 

"  But  I'm  not  in  yet,  Sergeant,"  laughed  Geor 
die.  "  There  is  Mr.  Breifogle  to  be  considered. 
If  he  passes,  there'll  be  no  room  for  me ;  and  if 
he  fails,  why,  I  may  too.  In  that  event,  I'll  have 
to  come  back  and  list  just  as  soon  as  I'm  eigh 
teen." 

And  yet  Geordie  felt  no  such  misgiving  as 
he  sat  silently  in  the  dark  corner  of  the  ambu- 


23 


lance,  choking  down  some  troublesome  lumps 
that  had  risen  in  his  throat,  and  made  his  eyes 
blind  as  his  mother's  arms  were  unclasped  about 
his  neck.  The  principal  of  the  school  which  young 
Breifogle  had  been  attending  for  two  years  had 
told  Mr.  McCrea  that  the  boy  was  neither  apt  nor 
studious,  that  he  had  twice  failed  in  his  exami 
nations  for  promotion  to  higher  grade,  and  that 
only  after  infinite  pains  and  much  help  had  he 
been  able  to  answer  the  sample  questions  en 
closed  with  his  letter  of  appointment.  "When 
asked  why  old  Mr.  Breifogle  did  not  withdraw 
his  son  from  a  race  in  which  he  had  no  chance, 
the  master  laughed. 

"  Breifogle  is  like  a  great  many  of  our  people 
who  have  become  suddenly  rich,"  said  he.  "  He 
thinks  money  and  a  political  pull  will  do  any 
thing.  He  refuses  to  believe  that  West  Point  is 
governed  by  rules  that  even  the  President  can 
not  violate.  He  is  confident  that  all  that  is  nec 
essary  is  for  him  to  go  on  with  Fritz  in  June,  and 
the  examiners  will  not  dare  reject  him,  especially 
if  Congressman  Pierce  is  there,  too." 

Now  this  was  no  exaggeration.  Mr.  Breifogle 
really  thought  it  a  very  unjustifiable  thing  in  an 
army  officer,  supporting  a  family  on  so  small  a 
salary,  to  undergo  the  expense  of  sending  George 
all  the  way  to  West  Point  and  back,  for  back  he 
felt  sure  he  would  have  to  come.  It  was  still 


worse  to  send  him  ahead  of  time  and  pay  board 
and  school  bills.  He  and  Fritz  would  not  go  until 
June. 

"  I'm  really  sorry  for  the  old  fellow,"  said 
McCrea ;  "  he's  so  thoroughly  earnest  and  honest 
in  his  convictions.  It  isn't  his  fault,  either.  It 
is  part  of  the  stock  in  trade  of  many  politicians 
to  make  their  constituents  believe  that  for  the 
benefit  of  their  special  friends  they  have  it  in 
their  power  to  set  aside  laws,  rules,  or  regulations. 
I  haven't  a  doubt  that  Pierce  has  made  the  old 
man  believe  he  '  stands '  in  with  the  Secretary  of 
War  and  the  Superintendent  of  the  Academy,  and 
that  Fritz  will  go  through  West  Point  with  fly 
ing  colors.  It  will  cost  Breifogle  nearly  a  thou 
sand  dollars  to  find  out  his  mistake." 

This  was  several  years  ago,  it  must  be  remem 
bered,  in  the  days  when  all  candidates  were  re 
quired  to  present  themselves  for  examination  at 
the  Point  instead  of  appearing  before  boards  of 
army  officers  at  convenient  garrisons  throughout 
the  country,  as  is  the  case  to-day. 

"  Ko,  Geordie,  my  boy,"  said  McCrea,  in  con 
clusion.  "  I  don't  like  to  take  comfort  in  another 
man's  misfortunes,  but  there  is  no  chance  what 
ever  for  young  Breifogle  and  every  chance  for 
you.  All  you  have  to  do  is  study  and  you'll 
win.  I  have  said  as  much  to  the  old  man,  for  he 
stopped  me  at  the  bank  the  other  day  and  asked 


25 


what  I  thought  of  the  case,  and  I  told  him 
frankly.  For  a  moment  he  looked  downcast; 
then  he  brightened  up  all  of  a  sudden,  laid  his 
finger  alongside  his  nose,  and  winked  at  me 
profoundly.  '  Yell,  you  yust  vait  a  leetle,'  he 
said,  and  turned  away.  I've  no  doubt  he  thinks 
I'm  only  trying  to  bluff  him  out  in  your  inter 
est." 

Two  days  more,  and  George,  standing  on  the 
rear  platform  of  the  Pullman,  looking  down  with 
no  little  awe  upon  the  swollen,  turbid,  ice-whirl 
ing  waters  of  the  Missouri,  far  beneath  the 
splendid  spans  of  the  great  railway  bridge.  An 
other  day,  and  his  train  seemed  to  be  rolling 
through  miles  of  city  streets  and  squares  before 
it  was  finally  brought  to  a  stand  under  the  grimy 
roof  of  the  station  at  Chicago.  Here  from  the 
windows  of  the  rattling  omnibus  that  bore  him 
across  the  town  to  the  depot  of  the  Michigan 
Central  he  gazed  in  wonderment  at  the  height 
of  the  buildings  on  every  side.  Early  the  next 
morning  he  was  up  and  dressed,  and  just  before 
sunrise  stepped  out  on  the  wooden  staging  at 
Falls  Yiew,  listening  to  the  voice  and  seeing  for 
the  first  time  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  Niag 
ara.  A  few  minutes  later,  looking  from  the  car 
window,  he  seemed  to  be  sailing  in  mid-air  over 
some  tremendous  gorge,  in  wrhose  depths  a  broad 
torrent  of  deep  green  water,  flecked  with  foam 


and  tossing  huge  crunching  masses  of  ice,  went 
roaring  away  beneath  him.  Such  a  letter  as  he 
wrote  to  mother  that  morning,  as  hour  after 
hour  he  sped  along  eastward  over  bands  of  glis 
tening  steel,  flying  like  the  wind,  yet  so  smooth 
ly  that  his  pen  hardly  shook.  Think  what  a  rev 
elation  it  must  have  been  to  that  frontier-bred 
boy,  whose  whole  life  had  been  spent  among  the 
mountains  or  prairies  of  the  Far  West,  to  ride  all 
the  morning  long  through  one  great  city  after 
another,  through  the  heart  of  Buffalo,  Eochester, 
Syracuse,  Utica,  and  Albany.  The  Mohawk  Val 
ley  seemed  one  long  village  to  him,  so  unaccus 
tomed  were  his  eyes  to  country  thickly  settled. 
The  Hudson,  still  fettered  with  ice  above  the  rail 
way  bridge  and  just  opening  below,  set  his  heart 
to  beating,  for  now  West  Point  lay  but  a  hundred 
miles  away.  How  the  train  seemed  to  whiz 
along  those  bold,  beautiful  shores,  undulating  at 
first,  but  soon  becoming  precipitous  and  rocky ! 
Many  people  gazed  from  the  westward  windows 
at  the  snow-covered  Catskills  as  the  afternoon 
began  to  wane;  but  Geordie  had  seen  mountains 
beside  which  these  were  but  hillocks.  The  clus 
tering  towns,  the  frequent  rush  of  engines  and 
cars,  the  ever -increasing  bustle,  however,  im 
pressed  him  greatly.  Every  now  and  then  his 
train  fairly  shot  past  stations  where  crowds  of 
people  stood  waiting. 


"  Didn't  they  want  to  get  on  ?"  he  asked  the 
Pullman  porter. 

"  Oh  yes,  sir,  wanted  to  bad  'nough ;  but,  Lord 
bless  you,  dis  train  don't  stop  for  them :  they  has 
to  wait  for  the  locals.  We  runs  a  hundred  trains 
a  day  along  here.  Dis  train  don't  even  stop 
where  you  gets  off,  sir ;  that's  why  you  have  to 
change  at  Poughkeepsie,  the  only  place  we  stop 
between  Albany  and  New  York." 

Surely  enough,  they  rolled  in  presently  under 
lofty  bluffs  under  a  bridge  so  high  in  the  air 
that  its  trusses  looked  like  a  spider-web,  and  then 
stopped  at  a  station  thronged  with  people;  and 
Pops,  feeling  not  a  little  bewildered,  found  him 
self  standing  with  his  hand  luggage,  looking 
blankly  after  the  car  that  had  borne  him  so  com 
fortably  all  the  way  from  Chicago,  and  now  dis 
appeared  in  the  black  depths  of  the  stone-faced 
tunnel  to  the  south,  seeming  to  contract  like  a 
leaking  balloon  as  it  sped  away.  Hardly  was  it 
out  of  sight  when  another  train  slid  in  to  replace 
it,  and  everybody  began  tumbling  aboard. 

"  This  for  Garrisons  ?"  he  asked  a  bearded  offi 
cial  in  blue  and  brass  buttons. 

A  nod  was  the  answer.  Railway  men  are  too 
busy  to  speak;  and  Pops  followed  the  crowd, 
and  took  a  seat  on  the  river-side.  The  sun  was 
well  down  to  the  westward  now ;  the  Hudson 
grew  broader,  blacker,  and  deeper  at  every  turn ; 


28 


*he  opposite  shores  cast  longer  shadows ;  the  elec 
tric  lights  were  beginning  to  twinkle  across  the 
wide  reach  at  Newburg ;  then  a  rocky  islet  stood 
sentinel  half-way  across  to  a  huge  rounded  rock- 
ribbed  height.  The  train  rushed  madly  into  an 
other  black  tunnel,  and  came  tearing  forth  at  the 
southern  end,  and  Pops' s  heart  fairly  bounded  in 
his  breast.  Lo!  there  across  the  deep  narrow 
channel  towered  Crow's  Nest  and  Storm  King. 
This  was  the  heart  of  the  Highlands*  Never 
before  had  he  seen  them,  yet  knew  them  at  a 
glance.  What  hours  had  he  not  spent  over 
the  photograph  albums  of  the  young  graduates  ? 
Another  rush  through  rocky  cuts,  and  then  a 
smooth,  swift  spin  around  a  long,  gradual  curve, 
lapped  by  the  waters  of  the  Hudson,  and  there, 
right  before  his  eyes,  still  streaked  with  snow, 
was  West  Point,  the  flag  just  fluttering  from  its 
lofty  staff  at  the  summons  of  the  sunset  gun. 

Ten  minutes  later  and  the  ferry-boat  was  pad 
dling  him  across  the  river,  almost  the  only  pas 
senger.  The  hush  of  twilight  had  fallen.  The 
Highlands  looked  bare  and  brown  and  cheerless 
in  their  wintry  guise.  Far  away  to  the  south 
the  crags  of  Dunderberg  were  reverberating  with 
the  roar  of  the  train  as  it  shot  through  Anthony's 
Nose.  The  stars  were  just  beginning  to  peep 
out  here  and  there  in  the  eastern  sky,  and  a  pal 
lid  crescent  moon  hung  over  against  them  in  the 


29 


west.  All  else  was  dark  and  bleak.  The  spell 
of  the  saddest  hour  of  the  day  seemed  to  chill 
the  boy's  brave  heart,  and  for  the  first  time  a 
homesick  longing  crept  over  him.  This  was  the 
cheery  hour  at  the  army  fireside,  far  out  among 
the  Rockies — the  hour  when  they  gathered  about 
the  open  hearth  and  heaped  on  the  logs,  and 
mother  played  soft,  sweet  melodies  at  the  piano, 
often  the  songs  of  Scotland,  so  dear  to  them  all. 
Pops  couldn't  help  it ;  he  was  beginning  to  feel 
a  little  blue  and  cold  and  hungry.  One  or  two 
passengers  scurried  ashore  and  clambered  into 
the  yellow  omnibus,  waiting  there  at  the  dock  as 
the  boat  was  made  fast  in  her  slip. 

"  Where  do  you  go  ?"  asked  the  driver  of  the 
boy. 

"  Send  my  trunk  up  to  the  hotel,"  said  Geordie, 
briefly.  "  I'm  going  to  walk." 

They  had  figured  it  all  out  together  before  he 
started  from  home,  he  and  Mr.  McCrea.  "  The 
battalion  will  be  coming  in  from  parade  as  you 
reach  the  Point,  Geordie,  if  your  train's  on  time." 
And  the  boy  had  determined  to  test  his  knowl 
edge  of  topography  as  learned  from  the  maps  he 
had  so  faithfully  studied.  Slinging  his  bag  into 
the  'bus,  he  strode  briskly  away,  crossed  the 
tracks  of  the  West  Shore  Eoad,  turned  abruptly 
to  his  right,  and  breasted  the  long  ascent,  the 
stage  toiling  behind  him.  A  few  minutes'  uphill 


30 


walk,  and  the  road  turned  to  the  left  near  the 
top  of  the  bluff.  Before  him,  on  the  north,  was 
the  long  gray  massive  fagade  of  the  riding-hall; 
before  him,  west  ward,  another  climb,  where,  quit 
ting  the  road,  he  followed  a  foot-path  up  the 
steep  and  smoothly  rounded  terrace,  and  found 
himself  suddenly  within  stone' s-throw  of  the  very 
buildings  he  sought.  At  the  crest  of  the  gentle 
slope  to  the  north,  the  library  with  its  triple 
towers ;  to  its  left,  the  solid  little  chapel ;  close 
at  hand  to  his  right  front,  the  fine  headquarters' 
building;  beyond  that,  dim  and  indistinct,  the 
huge  bulk  of  the  old  academic  building ;  and  di 
rectly  ahead  of  him,  its  great  windows  brilliantly 
lighted,  a  handsome  gray  stone  edifice,  with  its 
arched  doorway  and  broad  flight  of  steps  in  the 
centre — the  cadet  mess -hall,  as  it  used  to  be 
termed,  the  Grant  Hall  of  to-day.  His  pulses 
throbbed  as  he  stepped  across  the  road  and  stood 
on  the  flag-stones  beneath  the  trees.  A  sentry 
sauntering  along  the  walk  glanced  at  him  keenly, 
but  passed  him  by  without  a  word. 

Suddenly  there  rose  on  the  still  evening  air 
the  tramp  of  coming  soldiery,  quick  and  alert, 
louder  and  louder,  swifter  than  the  bounding  of 
his  heart  and  far  more  regular.  Suddenly  through 
the  broad  space  between  the  academic  and  the 
north  end  of  the  mess-hall,  straight  as  a  ruler, 
came  the  foremost  subdivision,  the  first  platoon 


_pi** 


"A   SENTRY   GLANCED    AT   HIM   KEENLY1' 


31 


of  Company  A,  and  instantly  in  response  to  the 
ringing  order,  "Column  right,"  from  some  deep 
manly  voice  farther  towards  the  rear,  the  young 
cadet  officer  in  front  whirled  about  and  ordered 
"Eight  wheel."  Another  second  and  around 
swept  the  perfect  line  in  the  heavy  gray  over 
coats,  the  little  blue  forage-caps  pulled  well  down 
over  the  smooth-shaved,  grave,  yet  youthful  faces 
dimly  seen  under  the  gaslight.  Then  on  they 
swept,  platoon  after  platoon,  in  strong  double 
rank,  each  in  succession  wheeling  again  steadily 
to  the  right  as  it  reached  the  broad  flight  of  steps, 
then  breaking  and  bounding  lightly  to  the  top, 
every  man  for  himself,  until,  one  after  the  other, 
each  of  the  eight  subdivisions  was  swallowed  up 
in  the  great  hall,  echoing  for  a  moment  with  chat 
and  laughter,  the  rattle  of  chairs,  the  clatter  of 
knife  and  fork  and  spoon,  and  then  the  big  doors 
swung  to,  and  Pops,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life, 
had  seen  the  famous  battalion  which  it  was  his 
most  ardent  wish  to  join.  For  a  moment  he  stood 
there  silent,  his  heart  still  beating  high,  then  with 
one  long  sigh  of  mingled  envy  and  gratification 
he  turned  away. 

That  same  evening,  wasting  no  time  after  he 
had  eaten  a  hearty  supper  at  Craney's,  Geordie 

sought  and  found  Lieutenant  B .    Everything 

had  been  arranged  by  letter ;  his  coming  was  ex 
pected,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  boy  and  his  in- 


32 


structor  were  seated  in  a  quiet  room,  and  Pops's 
preliminary  examination  was  really  begun.     In 

less  than  an  hour  Mr.  B had  decided  pretty 

thoroughly  where  his  instruction  was  already  sat 
isfactory  and  where  it  was  incomplete. 

"  There's  no  question  as  to  your  physique,  Mr. 
Graham,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  smiling  to  see  the 
blush  of  shy  delight  with  which  the  boy  wel 
comed  the  first  use  of  the  "  handle  "  to  his  name. 
Hitherto  he  had  been  Geordie  or  Pops  to  every 
body.  "  I  fancy  it  won't  take  long  to  make  you 
more  at  home  in  mathematics.  To-morrow  we'll 
move  you  into  your  temporary  quarters  down  at 
the  Falls,  and  next  day  begin  studies.  There  are 
several  candidates  on  the  ground  already." 

And  so  within  the  week  our  young  plainsman 
was  practically  in  harness,  and  with  a  dozen 
other  aspirants  trudging  twice  a  day  over  the 
mile  of  road  connecting  the  Point  and  the  village 
below;  studying  hard,  writing  home  regularly, 
hearing  a  great  deal  of  information  as  to  the  an 
tecedents  and  expectations  of  most  of  his  new 
associates,  but  partly  from  native  reticence  and 
partly  from  due  regard  of  McCrea's  cautions,  say 
ing  little  as  to  his  past  experiences,  and  nothing 
at  all  as  to  his  hopes  for  the  future.  "  No  mat 
ter  what  you  do  know  of  actual  service,  Pops 
—  and  you  have  had  more  experience  of  army 
life  than  ninety-nine  per  cent,  of  the  corps — it  is 


33 


best  not  to ' let  on'  that  you  know  anything  until 
you  are  an  old  cadet,  even  among  your  class 
mates." 

Some  of  his  new  associates  Pops  found  conge 
nial,  some  antagonistic ;  but  the  one  thing  he  kept 
in  mind  was  that  all  were  merely  conditional. 
Not  until  after  the  June  examination  would  they 
really  know  who  were  and  who  were  not  to  be 
of  "  the  elect."  "  Those  who  are  most  volubly 
confident  to-day,"  wrote  McCrea,  "  are  the  ones 
who  will  be  most  apt  to  fail.  Keep  your  own 
counsel,  'give  every  man  thine  ear  and  few  thy 
voice ' — and  that's  all." 

George  had  some  novel  experiences  in  those 
days  of  preparation,  and  met  some  odd  characters 
among  the  boys,  but  as  few  of  these  had  any 
bearing  on  his  subsequent  history  they  need  not 
be  dwelt  upon.  With  only  one  did  he  strike  up 
anything  approximating  an  intimacy,  and  that 
was  after  the  first  of  May  and  was  unavoidable, 
because  the  young  fellow  became  his  room-mate, 
for  one  thing,  and  was  so  jolly,  cheery,  confident, 
and  enthusiastic,  for  another,  that  Graham  simply 
couldn't  help  it. 

Along  in  May  his  letters  had  a  good  deal  to 
say  about  Mr.  Frazier,  and  by  June  the  Falls  be 
gan  to  fill  up  with  young  fellows  from  all  over 
the  country.  By  this  time  the  daily  sight  of  the 
battalion  at  its  drills  and  parades  was  perfectly 


34 


familiar  to  those  on  the  ground,  and  yet  the  gulf 
between  cadets  and  candidates  seemed  utterly 
unbridgable.  Dr.  Graham  had  thought  it  a 
good  thing  for  Geordie  to  go  with  letters  of  in 
troduction  from  Colonel  Fellows,  of  Fort  Union, 
to  his  son,  a  Second  Class  man,  or  from  Major 
Freeland,  of  Bridger,  whose  boy  was  in  the  Third, 
but  McCrea  said:  "No;  there  is  just  one  way 
to  win  the  respect  and  good-will  of  the  corps  of 
cadets,"  he  declared,  "  and  all  the  letters  and  all 
the  fathers  and  uncles  and  even  pretty  sisters 
combined  can't  win  it  any  other  way.  The  boy 
must  earn  it  himself,  and  it  isn't  to  be  earned  in 
a  month,  either.  Every  tub  stands  on  its  own 
bottom  there,  doctor.  The  higher  a  fellow's  con 
nections,  the  more  he  has  to  be  taken  down. 
Leastwise,  it  was  so  in  my  time,  and  West  Point 
is  deteriorating  if  it  is  any  different  now." 

Strange,  therefore,  as  it  may  seem,  though  he 
knew  many  a  cadet  by  sight  and  name,  not  one 
had  George  Graham  become  acquainted  with  un 
til  the  momentous  15th  of  June,  when,  with  a 
number  of  other  young  civilians,  he  reported 
himself  in  a  room  in  the  eighth  division  of  bar 
racks  to  Cadet  Lieutenant  Merrick ;  was  turned 
over  to  Cadet  Corporal  Stone  to  be  taken  to  the 
hospital  for  physical  examination,  and  in  one  of 
the  surgeons  recognized  an  old  friend  of  his  fa 
ther's  whom  he  knew  in  Arizona,  but  who  appar- 


35 


ently  didn't  know  Geordie  from  Adam.  One 
hundred  and  forty-seven  young  fellows  entered 
the  hospital  hopefully  that  day,  and  among  these 
over  twenty -five  were  rejected.  Among  those 
who  passed  was  Breifogle.  The  old  gentleman 
himself  was  on  hand  in  front  of  the  mess-hall, 
when  next  morning  those  who  had  passed  the 
scrutiny  of  the  surgeons  were  marshalled  thither 
to  undergo  the  written  examination  in  arith 
metic. 

Promptly,  under  the  eye  of  the  Professor  of 
Mathematics,  a  number  of  young  officers  assigned 
the  candidates  to  seats  and  set  them  at  their 
tasks.  Geordie  felt  that  his  face  was  very  white, 
but  he  strove  to  think  of  nothing  but  the  work 
in  hand.  Slowly  he  read  over  the  twelve  prob 
lems  on  the  printed  page,  then,  carefully  and 
methodically,  began  their  solution.  Long,  long 
before  he  was  through  he  saw  Frazier  rise  and, 
with  confident,  almost  careless  mien,  hand  his 
complete  work  to  the  secretary,  and  saunter  out 
into  the  sunshine.  Long  before  he  had  finished 
he  saw  many  another  go,  less  jauntily,  perhaps, 
but  with  quiet  confidence. 

One  by  one  most  of  Mr.  B 's  pupils  fin 
ished  inside  the  allotted  two  hours  and  a  half ;  but 
Geordie,  with  the  thoroughness  of  his  race,  again 
and  again  went  over  his  work  before  he  was  sat 
isfied  he,  at  least,  could  not  improve  it.  Then 


30 


he  arose,  and  trembling  a  bit  despite  himself, 
handed  his  paper  to  the  silent  officer.  A  num 
ber,  fully  twenty,  were  still  seated,  some  of  them 
helplessly  biting  their  pencils  and  looking  fur 
tively  and  hopelessly  about  them.  One  of  these 
was  Fritz  Breifogle,  for  whom  the  old  gentleman 
was  still  waiting  on  the  walk  outside.  Some 
officers,  noticing  the  father's  anxiety,  had  kindly 
invited  him  into  the  mess-parlor,  and  had  striven 
to  comfort  him  with  cooling  drink  and  a  cigar. 
He  was  grateful,  but  unhappy.  Already  it  had 
begun  to  dawn  upon  him  that  what  he  had  been 
told  of  West  Point  was  actually  true :  neither 
money  nor  influence  could  avail,  and  Fritz  was 
still  at  his  fruitless  task  when  "  the  hammer  fell." 
Another  day  and  the  suspense  was  over.  A 
score  more  of  the  young  fellows,  who  were  still 
faintly  hopeful  at  dinner-time,  were  missing  at 
the  next  muster  of  the  candidates  at  retreat. 
Breifogle  was  gone  without  a  word  to  his  alter 
nate.  The  way  was  clear  at  last,  and,  more  madly 
than  ever,  Pops's  heart  bounded  in  his  breast  as 
in  stern  official  tone  Cadet  Corporal  Loring  read 
rapidly  the  alphabetical  list  of  the  successful  can 
didates — George  Montrose  Graham  among  them. 


CHAPTER  III 

AND  now,  with  examinations  over,  and  no  re 
maining  doubts  or  fears,  there  was  probably  no 
happier  boy  in  all  the  "  menagerie  "  than  Geordie 
Graham.  As  for  the  hundred  young  fellows  in 
civilian  dress,  "  herded  "  three  and  four  in  each 
room,  and  wrestling  with  their  first  experiences 
of  cadet  life,  it  is  safe  to  say  most  of  the  number 
were  either  homesick  or  in  some  way  forlorn. 
Nothing  so  utterly  destroys  the  glamour  that 
hovers  over  one's  ideas  of  West  Point  as  the  real 
ities  of  the  first  fortnight.  Of  his  three  room 
mates  pro  tempore,  Bennie  Frazier  had  already 
announced  time  and  again  that  if  a  beneficent 
Creator  would  forgive  him  the  blunder  of  coming 
here  at  all,  he'd  square  accounts  by  quitting  as 
quick  as  he  possibly  could.  Winn,  a  tall  Ken- 
tuckian,  wanted  to  resign,  but  was  too  plucky. 
Connell,  a  bulky  young  Badger,  had  written  two 
terrific  screeds  to  his  uncle,  the  member  from 
Pecatonica,  denouncing  the  cadet  officials  as 
brutes,  bullies,  and  tyrants,  which  documents 
were  duly  forwarded  with  appropriate  complaint 
to  the  War  Department,  and  formed  the  text  for 


38 


a  furious  leader  in  the  Pecatonica  Pilot,  clamor 
ing  for  the  abolition  of  West  Point.  The  letters 
were  duly  referred  to  the  Superintendent  United 
States  Military  Academy  for  remark,  and  by  him 
to  the  commandant  of  cadets,  by  which  time  Mr. 
Connell  was  a  duly  accredited  high  private  in 
the  rear  rank  of  Company  B,  and  had  almost 
forgotten  the  woes  of  early  barrack  days,  and 
was  not  a  little  abashed  and  dismayed  when 
summoned  before  the  grave,  dignified  Colonel 
to  make  good  his  allegations.  It  took  him  just 
ten  seconds  to  transfer  any  lingering  resentment 
for  the  cadet  corporals  to  the  avuncular  M.  C., 
whom  with  boyish  inconsistency  he  now  be 
rated  for  being  such  a  fool  as  to  make  a  fuss 
about  a  little  thing  like  that.  Among  the  new 
cadets  were  a  very  few  who,  as  sons  of  army  offi 
cers,  knew  perfectly  well  what  they  had  to  ex 
pect.  These  and  a  number  of  young  fellows  who, 
like  Graham,  had  come  on  months  or  weeks  be 
forehand  and  placed  themselves  under  tuition, 
were  well  prepared  for  the  ordeal  of  the  entrance 
examination c  as  well  as  for  other  ordeals  which 
followed. 

Even  among  them,  however,  were  many  who 
looked  upon  life  with  eyes  of  gloom.  The  cease 
less  routine  of  drill,  drill,  of  sharp  reprimand,  of 
stern,  unbending  discipline,  wof ully  preyed  upon 
their  spirits.  Their  hearts  were  as  sore  as  their 


39 


unaccustomed  muscles.  But  with  Pops  all  was 
different.  He  had  reached  at  last  the  goal  of  his 
ambition.  He  had  won  his  way  through  many 
a  discouragement  to  the  prize  of  a  cadetship. 
JSTow  he  was  ready,  even  eager,  to  be  tried  and 
tested  in  every  way,  to  show  his  grit,  and  to  prove 
his  fitness  for  the  four  years'  race  for  the  highest 
prize  of  all,  the  diploma  and  commission.  The 
drill  that  made  his  comrades'  muscles  ache  was  a 
bagatelle  to  him.  From  earliest  boyhood  he  had 
watched  the  recruits  at  setting-up,  and  not  only 
learned  and  practised  all,  but  with  Bud  and  Dick 
for  his  squad  would  often  convulse  the  officers 
at  Yerde  and  Supply  by  his  imitation  of  Sergeant 
Feeny's  savage  Hibernian  manner.  The  cadet 
yearling  who  wras  drill -master  of  the  four  to 
which  Pops  was  assigned  saw  at  once  that  he 
had  a  "plebe  corporal"  —a  young  fellow  who 
had  been  pretty  well  drilled — and  all  the  more 
did  he  rasp  him  when  anything  went  amiss. 
Many  of  the  new-comers  had  been  through  squad- 
drill  at  military  schools  or  in  cadet  companies, 
but  never  under  such  rigid,  relentless  discipline 
as  this.  Every  cadet  drill -master  carried  the 
steel  rammer  of  his  rifle  as  a  drill-stick,  and  was 
just  about  as  unbending  as  his  rod  of  office.  Poor 
Frazier  was  in  hot-water  all  the  time — as  well  as 
in  the  sulks. 

"  I  belonged  to  the  high-school  cadets  for  two 


40 


years,  and  everybody  that  ever  saw  us  drill  said 
we  could  lay  over  anything  in  the  whole  country," 
he  protested,  "  and  now  here's  this  measly  little 
stuck-up  prig,  that  probably  never  knew  anything 
about  drill  until  he  entered  here  last  year,  cor 
recting  and  finding  fault  with  everything  I  do.  I 
ain't  going  to  stand  it,  by  thunder!  I've  writ 
ten  to  my  father  to  come  on  again,  and  just  have 
this  thing  attended  to  right  off."  And  Frazier's 
handsome  boyish  face  was  flushed  with  wrath, 
and  clouded  with  a  sense  of  wrong  and  indig 
nity.  "  It  seems  to  me  if  I  were  in  your  place 
I  wouldn't  stand  being  abused  either,  Graham. 
I  heard  Mr.  Flint  snapping  at  you  again  this 
morning." 

Pops  was  busity  engaged  dusting  for  the  tenth 
time  the  iron  mantel-shelf  and  the  little  looking- 
glass.  He  half  turned.  "  Wa-e-1,"  he  said,  while 
a  grin  of  amusement  hovered  about  the  corners  of 
his  mouth,  "  Flint  was  all  right,  I  guess.  Your 
squad  was  just  in  front  of  us,  and  when  I  saw 
Connell  stumble  over  your  heels  and  try  to  climb 
up  your  back,  I  laughed  out  loud.  He  caught  me 
chuckling." 

"Yes,  and  abused  you  like  a  pick-pocket,  by 
jingo !  If  my  father  were  an  officer  in  the  regu 
lar  army,  as  yours  is,  it  wouldn't  happen  twice 
to  me." 

"No,  nor  to  me  either,"  chimed  in  Connell. 


THE    AWKWARD   SQUAD 


41 


"  I'll  bet  you  he'd  sing  a  mighty  different  tune  if 
he  knew  you  were  the  son  of  a  Major." 

"Well,  there's  just  where  you're  'way  off,"  an 
swered  Geordie,  after  the  manner  of  the  frontier. 
"  Of  all  places  in  creation  this  is  the  one  where 
one's  dad  cuts  no  figure  whatever.  I've  often 
heard  old  officers  say  that  the  boys  who  got 
plagued  and  tormented  most  in  their  time  were 
the  fellows  whose  fathers  were  generals  or  cab 
inet  ministers.  Fred  Grant  wouldn't  have  had 
half  as  hard  a  time  if  his  father  hadn't  been 
President.  Frazier's  whole  trouble  comes  from 
letting  on  that  he  knew  all  about  drill  before 
he  got  here ;  that's  the  truth  of  it.  I  get  along 
smoothly  by  pretending  never  to  have  known 
anything." 

"  Oh,  a  lot  you  have  !  If  that  snob  Loring 
ever  speaks  to  me  as  he  spoke  to  you  this  morn 
ing  about  laughing  in  the  ranks,  I'll — I'll  just  let 
him  have  my  fist  between  the  eyes,  and  he'll  see 
more  stars  than  he  ever  saw  before,  if  he  is  a 
color  corporal.  What  '11  your  father  say  when 
he  hears  that  he  threatened  to  put  you  in  a  cell 
just  for  laughing  when  that  Pike  County  fellow 
knocked  his  hat  off  trying  to  salute  ?" 

"Well,  he  didn't  say  cell,  in  the  first  place,  and 
father  wouldn't  hear  it  from  me,  at  least,  if  he 
had.  It's  an  understood  thing  at  home  that 
they're  to  ask  no  questions,  and  I'm  to  tell  no 


tales  until  plebe  camp  is  over  and  done  with. 
Plebes  don't  begin  to  have  the  hard  times  now 
that  they  had  thirty  years  ago,  and  if  they  could 
stand  it  then,  I  can  now.  All  you've  got  to  do  is 
simply  make  up  your  mind  to  grin  and  bear  it ; 
do  just  as  you're  told,  and  say  nothing  about  it. 
If  this  thing  worries  you  now,  when  only  our  drill- 
masters  and  instructors  get  at  us,  what  are  you 
going  to  do,  Frazier,  when  you're  marched  over 
there  into  camp  next  week  and  turned  over  to 
the  tender  mercies  of  the  whole  corps  ?" 

"  I'm  going  to  fight  the  first  man  that  offers 
me  an  indignity  of  any  kind,  by  thunder !" 

Geordie  burst  into  one  of  his  merry  laughs,  just 
as  a  light  foot  came  bounding  up  the  iron  stair 
way.  Bang !  A  single  knock  at  the  door.  Up 
sprang  the  four  boys,  heels  and  knees  together, 
heads  up,  eyes  straight  to  the  front,  arms  and 
hands  braced  against  the  sides,  the  palms  of  the 
latter  turned  outward  as  far  as  the  youngsters 
could  force  them  and  thereby  work  their  shoulders 
back,  each  young  fellow  facing  the  centre  of  the 
bare  and  cheerless  room.  Enter  Cadet  Corporal 
Loring,  his  jaunty  gray  coat  fitting  like  wax,  not 
a  crease  nor  a  wrinkle  anywhere,  every  one  of 
his  three  rows  of  bell  buttons  glistening,  his  gold 
chevrons  gleaming,  his  white  collar,  cuffs,  gloves, 
and  trousers  simply  immaculate,  everything  so 
trig  and  military,  all  in  such  wondrous  contrast  to 


43 


the  sombre  garb  of  the  four  plebes.  His  clear- 
cut  face  is  stern  and  dignified. 

"  What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  noise  ?"  he 
asks.  "  Who  was  laughing  as  I  came  in  ?" 

"  I  was,  sir,"  promptly  answers  Graham. 

"  You  again,  Mr.  Graham  ?  This  is  the  third 
time  since  reveille  I've  had  to  reprimand  you  for 
chuckling  like  a  school-boy — twice  in  ranks,  and 
now  again  at  inspection.  What  were  you  laugh 
ing  at  this  time,  sir?1'  inquired  Mr.  Loring,  ma 
jestically. 

"  At  something  Frazier  said,  sir." 

"Mr.  Frazier,  sir.  Never  omit  the  handle  to 
a  gentleman's  name  on  duty  or  in  official  inter 
course.  Only  among  yourselves  and  off  duty  can 
you  indulge  in  familiarity ;  never,  sir,  in  conver 
sation  with  superior  officers."  (Oh,  the  immensi 
ty  of  distance  between  the  plebe  and  the  year 
ling  corporal!)  "And  you  are  room  orderly, 
too,  Mr.  Graham,  and  responsible  for  the  ap 
pearance  of  things.  Where  should  the  broom 
be,  sir?" 

"  Behind  the  door,  sir." 

"Then  where  is  it,  sir?" 

And  for  the  first  time  poor  Pops  sees  that  in 
the  heat  of  argument,  Frazier,  dusting  off  his 
shoes  with  that  implement,  had  left  it  across  the 
room  in  the  alcove.  Still,  it  was  his  own  busi 
ness  to  see  that  it  was  in  place,  so  he  had  noth- 


44 


ing  to  say  beyond,  "  I  didn't  notice  it  until  just 
now,  sir." 

"  Exactly,  Mr.  Graham ;  if  you  had  been  at 
tending  to  your  duty  instead  of  giggling  over 
Mr.  Frazier's  witticisms  you  would  have  escaped 
punishment.  Report  at  my  office  immediately 
after  supper  this  evening,  sir."  And  then,  after 
finding  perhaps  a  pin -head  of  dust  behind  the 
looking-glass,  and  further  rebuking  Mr.  Graham 
for  unmilitary  carelessness,  the  young  gentleman 
proceeds  to  carry  dismay  into  the  next  room. 

And  that  evening,  after  supper,  as  ordered, 
Pops  tapped  at  the  awful  door,  was  bidden  to 
enter  and  listen  to  his  doom.  Cadet  Lieutenant 
Merrick  sat  in  judgment.  For  levity  in  ranks, 
dust  on  mantel,  broom  out  of  place  at  inspection, 
new  Cadet  Graham  was  directed  to  walk  post  in 
the  hall  until  drum-beat  at  tattoo. 

Outside  the  door,  standing  meekly  in  the  hall 
way,  awaiting  summons  to  enter,  were  half  a 
dozen  of  his  comrades,  about  to  be  sentenced  to 
similar  punishment  for  blunders  of  greater  or 
less  magnitude.  Some  looked  woe-begone,  some 
foolish,  some  were  laughing,  but  all  assumed  the 
required  expression  of  gravity  as  Mr.  Loring 
came  forth  with  his  victim.  In  two  minutes 
our  Geordie  found  himself  slowly  pacing  the 
hallway  on  the  second  floor,  with  strict  orders  to 
keep  his  little  fingers  on  the  seams  of  his  trou- 


45 


sers,  the  palms  of  his  hands  to  the  front,  and  to 
hold  conversation  with  nobody  except  in  the  line 
of  duty.  For  a  moment  he  could  not  but  feel  a 
little  wrathful  and  disheartened,  but  again  Mc- 
Crea's  words  came  to  his  aid :  "  Kemember  that 
the  first  thing  that  will  be  sorely  tested  is  your 
sense  of  subordination — your  readiness  to  obey 
without  question.  No  soldier  is  considered  fit 
to  command  others  until  he  can  command  him 
self.  They  purposely  put  a  fellow  through  all 
manner  of  predicament  just  to  test  his  grit.  Don't 
let  anything  ruffle  your  temper,  and  they  will  soon 
find  you  need  no  lessons."  And  so,  like  a  sentry, 
he  patiently  tramped  his  post,  listening  to  the 
music  of  the  band  at  an  evening  concert  out  on 
the  Plain,  and  keeping  watchful  eye  for  the  com 
ing  of  cadet  officials.  Along  towards  nine  o'clock 
up  came  Cadet  Lieutenant  Merrick,  commanding 
the  plebes ;  and  "  Pops,"  as  he  had  been  taught, 
halted,  faced  him,  and  stood  attention. 

"  Why  are  you  on  punishment  to-night,  sir  ?" 
was  the  question. 

Pops  colored,  but  answered  promptly,  "  Laugh 
ing  in  ranks,  broom  out  of  place,  and  some  other 
things,  sir." 

"  Yes,  I  remember.  Go  to  your  quarters  now, 
and  keep  your  face  straight  on  duty  hereafter." 

Involuntarily  Geordie  raised  his  hand  in  salute, 
as  for  years  he  had  seen  the  soldiers  do  after 


46 


receiving  orders  from  an  officer,  then  turned 
to  go. 

"  One  moment,  Mr.  Graham.  Whose  squad 
are  you  in  ?" 

"  Mr.  Flint's,  sir." 

" Did  he  teach  you  that  salute?' 

"  JSTo,  sir,"  stammered  Geordie. 

"  Where  did  you  learn  it  ?" 

"  Among  the  soldiers,  sir,  in  the  garrison." 

"  Ah,  yes,  I've  heard  of  your  case.  That  '11  do, 
sir." 

Back  in  his  room  Pops  found  his  three  com 
rades  in  excited  discussion.  Something  tremen 
dous  had  happened.  While  Geordie,  obedient  to 
his  orders,  had  gone  to  report  to  the  cadet  offi 
cer,  Frazier,  exulting  in  his  knowledge  of  the 
Point,  had  persuaded  Connell  to  trust  himself  to 
his  guidance  and  go  out  for  a  walk.  For  half  an 
hour  after  returning  from  supper  the  new  cadets 
were  allowed  release  from  quarters,  and  permitted 
to  visit  each  other  and  stroll  about  the  grounds 
as  they  might  see  fit,  but  were  cautioned  not  to 
venture  over  towards  camp.  The  Graduating 
Class  had  now  been  gone,  with  the  happy  fur- 
loughmen,  an  entire  week.  The  rest  of  the  corps, 
the  new  First  and  Third  Classes,  had  marched  into 
their  summer  quarters  over  across  the  cavalry 
plain,  among  the  beautiful  trees  south  of  old  Fort 
Clinton.  The  new  cadets,  still  in  the  garb  of 


47 


civil  life,  were  "  herded  together,"  as  the  old  ca 
dets  expressed  it,  at  the  barracks,  and  thither  the 
older  cadets  now  were  forbidden  to  go.  Except 
in  the  mess-hall,  three  times  a  day,  they  were  seen, 
therefore,  only  by  their  barrack  instructors  and 
their  squad  drill -masters.  As  a  result  of  this 
plan  the  wholesale  system  of  hazing,  plaguing, 
and  tormenting  that  prevailed  at  the  Point  some 
thirty  years  ago  was  wellnigh  prevented.  Not 
so,  however,  the  impulse.  Just  so  long  as  human 
nature  remains  as  it  is  and  has  been  since  crea 
tion,  "  boys  will  be  boys,"  and  rare  indeed  are 
the  boy-natures  which  know  not  the  longing  to 
play  tricks  upon  new-comers,  especially  at  school 
or  college.  Even  among  mature  men  the  impulse 
lingers.  Added,  therefore,  to  the  line  of  demar 
cation  mentioned  in  the  interest  of  discipline  be 
tween  the  plebe  and  the  upper-class  man  there 
ever  exists  the  temptation  to  have  sport  at  the  ex 
pense  of  the  new-comers,  and  only  by  most  strin 
gent  measures  has  the  spirit  been  controlled  to 
the  extent  that  it  is. 

So  long  as  Geordie  and  his  comrades  kept  to 
the  neighborhood  of  the  barracks,  however,  they 
were  safe.  A  few  of  their  number  had  been  run 
up  into  the  rooms  of  the  yearlings  the  day  be 
fore  camp,  where  they  were  instantly  surrounded 
by  a  frantic  mob  of  young  fellows  mad  with  ex 
ultation  at  being  at  last  released  from  plebehood, 


48 


and  eager  to  try  on  the  new  boys  the  experi 
ments  lavished  on  them  a  twelvemonth  previous. 
The  officer  in  charge  caught  sound  of  the  affair, 
however,  and  made  instant  descent  upon  the  di 
vision,  only,  of  course,  to  find  the  suspected  room 
deserted,  and  all  the  others  crowded  by  old  cadets, 
and  the  only  faces  that  looked  in  the  faintest 
degree  conscious  of  guilt  or  wrong  were  those 
of  the  luckless  plebes  themselves,  who,  cautioned 
against  entering  the  barracks  of  the  elders,  were 
nevertheless  caught  in  the  act,  and  could  never 
explain  any  more  than  they  could  help  their 
presence  on  dangerous  and  forbidden  ground. 

Benny  Frazier  was  loud  in  his  ridicule  of  AVinn, 
who  was  one  of  the  party  entrapped.  No  year 
ling  and  no  squad  or  party  of  yearlings  could 
get  him  where  he  didn't  mean  or  wish  to  go,  he 
frequently  said;  and  for  no  other  reason  than 
that  he  had  been  officially  warned  to  keep  away 
from  camp  had  Benny  become  possessed  with 
the  longing  to  cruise  thither.  Old  cadets  couldn't 
cross  sentry  posts  and  nab  them,  he  argued. 
"  We'll  just  aggravate  them  by  coming  so  near, 
and  yet  keeping  aloof."  Poor,  crestfallen,  in 
dignant  Benny !  He  and  Connell  had  sallied 
forth,  had  gone  strolling  over  the  plain  and 
along  the  south  side  of  camp,  between  the  field 
battery  and  the  tents,  had  smilingly  declined 
the  eager  invitation  of  the  yearlings,  who  crowd- 


49 


eel  down  along  the  post  of  the  sentry  on  Number 
Five,  urging  them  to  enter  and  make  themselves 
at  home.  In  the  consciousness  of  his  superior 
wisdom  Benny  had  even  ventured  upon  an  ex 
pressive  gesture  with  his  thumb  at  the  tip  of  his 
nose,  his  fingers  wiggling  in  air.  Poor  boy ! 
There  were  instant  and  stentorian  shouts  for  the 
corporal  of  the  guard.  Down  at  a  run  from  the 
guard-tent  came  a  patrol.  Eager  hands  pointed 
the  way ;  eager  voices  clamored  for  their  arrest. 
Benny  and  Connell  were  surrounded  in  an  in 
stant.  Glistening  bayonets  were  levelled  at  their 
throbbing  hearts.  "  March!"  was  the  order,  and 
amid  the  jeers  and  rejoicing  of  a  hundred  young 
scamps  in  gray  and  white  the  two  poor  plebes 
were  sternly  marshalled  to  the  guard-tents,  and 
into  the  awful  presence  of  the  cadet  officer  of 
the  day,  charged  with  having  disobeyed  the  sen 
tinel's  order  not  to  pass  between  the  guns,  and, 
far  worse,  of  having  made  insulting  gestures  to 
a  sentry  in  the  solemn  discharge  of  his  duty.  It 
was  an  impressive  moment.  There  stood  the 
stern  young  cadet  captain  in  his  tall  plume  and 
crimson  sash  and  gold-laced  sleeves,  astounded 
at  the  effrontery  of  these  young  yet  hardened 
reprobates. 

"  Is  this  possible  ?"  he  demanded,  slowly,  im 
pressively.  "  Who  and  what  are  you  who  have 
dared  to  insult  the  sacred  office  of  the  sentinel, 


50 


the  soldier  to  whose  lightest  word  even  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  must  show  respect?  Who  and 
what  are  you  ?" 

"  We  didn't  mean  any  harm,"  whimpered  Ben 
ny.  "  We're  only  new  cadets." 

«  What  /" 

And  here  every  one  in  the  surrounding  group 
— officer  of  the  day,  officer  of  the  guard,  corpo 
rals  and  privates,  awed  spectators — all  fell  back 
into  attitudes  expressive  of  horror  and  dismay. 

"What!"  exclaimed  the  cadet  captain.  "Are 
you  mad  ?  Mad !"  he  continued.  "  Is  it  credible 
that  you,  chosen  by  the  deluded  Representatives 
of  your  States  to  represent  a  proud  community 
in  an  honorable  profession — you  dared  to  signal 
ize  your  admission  here  by  one  of  the  most  fla 
grant  offences  known  to  military  law  ?  Send  at 
once  for  the  Superintendent,  Officer  of  the  Guard. 
This  is  beyond  my  powers.  Into  the  guard-tent 
with  them!  Batten  down  the  walls.  Station 
sentries  at  each  side,  Mr.  Green.  Put  two  of 
your  most  reliable  men  at  the  door,  with  orders 
to  shoot  them  dead  if  they  stir  a  muscle.  Order 
ly,  go  at  once  for  the  commandant,  and  warn  the 
officers  that  mutiny  has  broken  out  among  the 
new  cadets." 

And  so  in  another  instant  the  luckless  boys 
were  bundled  into  the  guard-tent,  with  bristling 
bayonets  at  every  opening,  with  sentries  on  every 


51 


side  discussing  in  awe-inspiring  tones  the  proba 
ble  fate  of  the  mutineers.  And  here  might  they 
have  been  held  in  limbo  for  hours  had  not  Cadet 
Corporal  Loring  found  them  absent  at  inspection, 
and  learned  from  Mr.  Winn,  sole  representative 
of  the  quartet,  that  Frazier  had  invited  Connell 
to  take  a  walk,  and  shrewdly  suspecting  that  they 
had  been  trapped  over  at  camp,  had  reported 
matters  to  Mr.  Merrick,  his  immediate  superior, 
and  was  sent  over  to  the  rescue.  Of  course,  on 
hearing  the  nature  of  their  crime,  he  too  was 
properly  shocked,  and  could  find  no  words  to  ex 
press  his  consternation.  All  the  same,  he  got 
them  out  of  the  guard-tent  and  over  to  barracks 
before  the  army  officer  on  duty  as  commandant 
of  new  cadets  happened  in,  and  had  barely  time 
to  get  them  to  their  room  before  that  gentleman 
came  to  inquire  if  their  charges  were  all  safe 
for  the  night.  Pops  found  Connell  grievously 
alarmed,  but  Frazier  was  only  loudly  indignant. 

"  All  I'm  afraid  of  is  that  now  I  won't  get  in 
the  first  squad  to  have  muskets,"  he  said.  "  We 
were  going  to  have  'em  in  the  morning." 

But  when  morning  came  it  was  Geordie,  not 
Frazier,  who  was  put  in  the  first  squad,  and  Ben 
ny  couldn't  understand  it.  He  who  had  been  the 
best  soldier  of  the  high  -  school  cadets  was  left 
behind. 


CHAPTER  IV 

DRILL,  drill,  drill!  Up  with  the  dawn,  rain 
or  shine ;  hurrying  through  their  soldier  toilets ; 
rushing  down  the  iron  stairways  and  springing 
into  rigid  attention  in  the  forming  ranks ;  sharp 
ly  answering  to  the  rapidly  called  roll;  scatter 
ing  to  their  rooms  to  "spruce  up"  for  inspec 
tion;  sure  of  reprimand  if  anything  went  amiss, 
sure  of  silence  only  if  all  were  well.  Sweeping 
and  dusting;  folding,  arranging,  and  rearranging 
each  item  of  their  few  belongings;  stumbling 
over  one  another's  heels  at  first,  yet  with  each 
succeeding  day  marching  to  meals  with  less  con 
straint  and  greater  appetite ;  spending  long  hours 
of  toil  and  brief  minutes  of  respite;  twisting, 
turning,  wrenching,  extending,  developing  every 
muscle,  most  of  them  hitherto  unsuspected  and 
unknown  ;  bending  double,  springing  erect,  roost 
ing  on  tiptoe,  swaying  forward,  backward,  side- 
wa}7s,  every  ways ;  aching  in  every  bone  and 
joint,  sore  in  every  limb,  yet  expected  to  stick  to 
it  through  thick  and  thin,  until  as  days  wore  on 
and  pains  wore  off,  and  all  that  was  sore,  stiff, 
and  awkward  grew  little  by  little  to  be  supple, 


53 


easy,  and  alert.  Wondrous  indeed  is  the  trans 
formation  wrought  in  two  weeks  of  such  drill 
under  such  drill  -  masters.  The  1st  of  July  ar 
rived  ;  George  Graham  and  his  fivescore  plebe 
comrades  had  now  spent  a  fortnight  under  sur 
veillance  and  discipline  strict  and  unrelenting 
as  that  of  the  days  of  .grim  old  Frederick  the 
Great,  except  that  it  tolerated  no  touch  of  the 
corporal's  cane,  no  act  of  abuse.  Sharp,  stern, 
fiercely  critical  were  the  young  cadet  instructors, 
but  after  the  first  few  days  of  soreness  the  na 
tive  elasticity  returned  to  both  body  and  soul, 
the  boys  began  to  take  heart  again,  and  a  spirit 
of  rivalry  to  develop  between  the  drill  squads. 

To  Geordie  the  hours  of  soreness  of  spirit  had 
been  few  as  those  of  physical  suffering.  His 
years  of  life  among  the  soldiers  had  prepared 
him  for  much  that  he  had  to  encounter,  and 
pride  and  pluck  sustained  him  when  wearied  by 
the  drills  or  annoyed  by  the  sharp  language  of 
his  instructors.  But  with  poor  Benny  Frazier  all 
was  different.  A  pet  at  home,  and  the  brightest 
scholar  of  the  high-school  of  his  native  city;  more 
over,  the  boy  officer  of  the  high-school  battalion, 
of  whom  it  was  confidently  predicted  that  "  He 
would  need  no  drilling  at  all  at  West  Point"; 
"  He'd  show  those  cadet  fellows  a  thing  or  two 
they  never  dreamed  of" — it  was  gall  and  worm 
wood  to  his  soul  to  find  himself  the  object  of  no 


54 


more  consideration  at  the  Point  than  the  green 
est  "  country  Jake  "  from  Indiana  or  Dakota  ;  and 
to  Benny's  metropolitan  mind  anything  from 
either  Western  commonwealth  could  be  nothing 
but  green.  What  made  matters  worse  for  Fra- 
zier  was  the  fact  that  his  father  and  mother  had 
accompanied  him  to  the  Point  on  his  arrival,  and 
with  pardonable  pride,  but  mistaken  zeal,  had 
sought  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  such  offi 
cers,  cadets,  and  relatives  of  other  plebes  as  they 
chanced  to  meet  the  story  of  Benny's  manifold 
excellences  as  soldier  and  scholar — oft-told  tales 
of  how  General  This  or  Professor  That  had  de 
clared  him  the  most  accomplished  young  cap 
tain  they  had  ever  seen.  Then  poor  Mrs.  Fra- 
zier,  who  had  pictured  for  her  beloved  boy  a 
reception  at  the  hands  of  the  authorities  in 
which  gratification,  cordiality,  and  respect  should 
be  intermingled,  was  simply  aghast  to  find  that 
he  must  take  his  stand  with  his  fellows  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ladder.  Luckily  for  Benny,  his 
parents'  stay  was  limited  to  three  days.  Un 
luckily  for  Benny,  they  remained  long  enough  to 
see  him  at  his  first  squad  drill,  side  by  side  with 
two  unmistakably  awkward  boys,  and  faring  but 
little  better.  Such  was  her  grief  and  indigna 
tion  that  the  good  lady  declared  to  acquaint 
ances  at  the  hotel  that  her  boy  should  be  drilling 
that  horrid  little  martinet  instead  of  being  drilled 


55 


by  him — and  such  speeches  are  sure  of  repetition. 
Before  Benny  was  a  week  older  he  was  known 
throughout  the  battalion  as  "  the  plebe  who  had 
come  to  drill  the  corps  of  cadets,"  and  nothing 
could  have  started  him  worse.  One  can  only 
conjecture  what  the  fond  but  unwise  mother 
would  have  said  could  she  have  seen,  a  fortnight 
later,  that  boys  who  had  never  drilled  at  all- 
had  never  handled  a  musket — were  grouped  in  the 
first  squad,  and  making  rapid  and  soldierly  prog 
ress,  while  Benny  was  still  fretting  and  fuming 
in  the  lower  one.  Yet  what  was  so  inexplicable 
and  inexcusable  in  her  eyes  was  perfectly  plain 
and  simple  to  those  acquainted  with  the  facts. 

All  over  the  Union  now  are  military  schools 
and  National  Guard  organizations  in  which  the 
drill  regulations  of  the  regular  army  are  well 
taught  and  understood ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
there  are  many  schools  and  communities  in 
which  the  strictly  business  system  of  instruction 
insisted  upon  among  all  progressive  soldiers  has 
been  neglected  in  favor  of  something  showy, 
catchy,  pretty  to  look  at,  and  utterly  useless  and 
unserviceable  except  for  spectacular  purposes; 
and  as  ill-luck  would  have  it,  Benny  had  been 
taught  all  manner  of  "  fancy  drill  "  movements 
utterly  at  variance  with  those  he  was  now  to 
learn ;  and  so,  poor  boy,  the  nerves  and  muscles 
long  schooled  in  one  way  of  doing  things  were 


56 


perpetually  tripping  him  in  his  efforts  to  master 
another  —  he  had  to  unlearn  so  much  before  he 
could  learn  even  a  little.  The  green  boys,  on 
whom  he  looked  with  such  pity  at  the  start, 
knowing  no  wrong  methods,  were  speedily  far 
ahead  of  him  in  acquiring  the  right. 

And  so  the  boy  who  had  entered  with  the 
highest  hopes  and  expectations  was  now  low  on 
the  soldier  list  and  lowest  in  his  mind.     But  for 
his  father's  hard  common-sense,  Benny  Frazier 
would  have  been  only  too  glad  to  resign  and  get 
out  of  it  all  and  go  home,  as  other  disappointed 
boys  have  done,  and  declare  West  Point  a  hot 
bed  of  narrow  prejudice,  of  outrageous  partiality, 
and  unbridled   injustice ;  and   Benny's   mother 
would   have    honestly  believed   every  word  of 
it.     Connell,  too,  was  ready  to  sympathize  with 
Frazier,  and  confidentially  to  agree  with  him  that 
Pops,  the  youngest  of  the  four  room-mates,  owed 
his  rise  to  the  first  squad  entirely  to  the  fact  that 
his  father  was  an  officer ;  but  when  four  more 
boys  were  added  to  the  first  squad,  and  Connell 
was  one  of  them,  he  changed  his  views,  and  de 
cided  that  only  merit  governed  those  matters, 
after  all.     He  began  to  pluck  up  heart,  too,  for 
he   and  Graham  were  among  the   first   to  be 
marched  over  to  the  commissary's  to  try  on  the 
new   gray  fatigue   uniforms,   and   Mr.  Loring's 
squad  all  appeared  in  shell  jackets  and  trousers 


57 


beforeWinn  and  Frazier  had  cast  off  their  civilian 
garb. 

By  July  1st,  however,  all  were  in  fatigue  dress, 
and  consolidated  in  half  a  dozen  squads  for  drill 
purposes.  By  this  time,  too,  they  could  march 
to  and  from  the  mess  -  hall  in  stiff  but  soldierly 
fashion ;  and  still,  hour  after  hour,  the  relentless 
drills  went  on.  Only  on  Saturday  afternoons 
and  on  the  long,  beautiful,  peaceful  Sundays  was 
there  really  time  and  opportunity  for  rest ;  and 
still  the  new  cadets  were  kept  carefully  secluded 
from  the  old,  seeing  little  or  nothing  of  the  bat 
talion,  except  as,  with  its  quick  elastic  step  and 
its  glistening  white  uniform,  with  the  brave 
young  faces  looking  browner  every  day  under 
their  snowy  helmets,  with  drums  and  fifes  play 
ing  their  lively  quicksteps,  the  little  column 
came  marching  down  the  shaded  road,  and  the 
plebes  were  drawn  up  in  solid  ranks  until  their 
future  comrades  should  pass  by,  and,  springing 
up  the  mess  -  hall  steps,  give  room  for  them  to 
follow. 

Pops  wrote  his  first  long  letter  home  the  sec 
ond  Sunday  after  passing  the  entrance  examina 
tion,  and  this  is  something  of  what  he  said : 

"  We  have  lived  together  now  just  fourteen 
days,  Frazier  and  Connell,  Winn  and  I,  and  are 
getting  along  pretty  well.  Of  course  we  may 
be  scattered  as  soon  as  we  get  in  camp,  for  Winn 


58 


is  tall,  and  will  be  put  in  A  or  D  company. 
Connell  wants  to  live  with  his  statesman,  Mr. 
Foster,  in  B.  If  Frazier  and  I  get  into  the 
same  company  we  will  tent  together,  most  likely. 
He  asked  me  to,  and  said  he  could  fix  it.  We 
got  our  fatigue  uniforms  Thursday,  Connell  and 
I,  and  were  almost  the  first,  too,  because  of  being 
in  Mr.  Loring's  squad  for  drill.  He  is  very  sharp 
and  severe,  and  some  of  our  class  don't  like  him 
a  bit;  but  thus  far  we  get  along  all  right.  I'm 
so  pleased  to  be  in  the  first  squad  to  get  rifles 
I  don't  mind  his  manner.  Of  course  it  helped 
a  good  deal  knowing  the  manual  of  arms,  but 
they're  a  heap  stricter  here.  [Pops  would  drop 
into  frontierisms  at  times.]  If  a  thumb  or  finger 
is  a  bit  out  of  place,  the  corporal  makes  more  row 
about  it  than  Sergeant  Feeny  would  over  a  re 
cruit's  coming  out  for  guard  with  a  dirty  kit. 

"  I  guess  Frazier  wishes  he  hadn't  been  so  fresh 
[more  slang,  Pops]  at  first.  He  was  captain  in 
the  high-school  cadets  and  head  of  his  class,  and 
rather  held  over  our  boys  about  the  drill  at  first; 
said  he  knew  it  all,  and  showed  his  school  med 
als  for  best-drilled  soldier,  etc. ;  but  Mr.  Loring 
gave  him  fits,  and  put  him  under  Mr.  Flint,  who 
drilled  me  the  first  few  days,  and  is  as  ugly  and 
stern  as  he  can  be.  Frazier  tried  to  make  us  be 
lieve  the  cadets  were  drilling  him  wrong ;  but 
when  he  showed  us  how  they  did  it  where  he 


59 


came  from  I  knew  it  was  he  who  was  wrong ; 
and  he's  had  a  lot  of  trouble,  and  wanted  to  re 
sign  and  quit,  but  his  father  wouldn't  let  him. 
He's  getting  on  a  little  better  now,  and  says  he'll 
be  all  right  as  soon  as  we  are  at  our  studies  in 
the  fall.  I  guess  he  will,  for  he's  been  clear 
through  algebra  and  geometry  and  trigonome 
try,  has  been  in  France  two  years,  and  speaks 
French  perfectly,  and  we  all  think  he's  sure  to 
be  head  of  the  class,  if  he  doesn't  get  disgusted ; 
but  he  does  that  pretty  easy.  Connell  is  slower, 
but  has  been  well  taught  in  the  public  schools. 
Winn  is  a  big,  tall  fellow  from  '  Kentuck,'  as  he 
calls  it-— good-natured  and  jolly.  He's  been  to 
college,  and  is  nearly  twenty ;  so  is  Connell ;  and 
Frazier  is  eighteen,  but  a  regular  boy.  He  was 
awfully  disgusted  at  a  trick  the  old  cadets  played 
on  him  last  week ;  and  they  got  hold  of  some 
story  about  his  thinking  he  ought  to  be  drilling 
them  instead  of  their  drilling  him,  and  I  expect 
he'll  have  a  tough  lesson  when  we  go  into  camp, 
where  they  can  get  at  us  and  have  fun.  Don't 
expect  any  long  letters  like  this,  mother  dear, 
when  once  we  are  there,  for  there  won't  be  any 
undisturbed  hours,  as  there  are  here  in  barracks 
this  lovely  Sunday  afternoon.  I've  been  think 
ing  of  all  you  said  to-day,  and  tried  to  fix  my 
thoughts  on  the  service  and  the  sermon  in  church ; 
but  they  would  go  with  my  eyes  along  the  row 


of  cadet  officers,  who  always  sit  in  the  centre 
aisle  and  at  the  end  of  the  pews,  and  I  found 
myself  wondering  what  each  one  was  like,  and 
whether  the  time  would  really  ever  come  Avhen 
I,  too,  would  wear  the  handsome  chevrons  and 
sash.  I  could  see  just  where  Mr.  McCrea  must 
have  sat  when  he  was  cadet  captain  of  Com 
pany  C.  It  must  have  seemed  such  a  'come 
down '  to  go  out  into  the  world  and  be  nothing 
but  a  Second  Lieutenant,  whom  anybody  could 
rank  out  of  quarters  and  everybody  order  around. 
And  yet  that's  what  I  hope  to  do  after  four  years 
—four  long,  long  years  of  hard  work ;  and  there 
isn't  a  happier,  hopefuler  boy  in  creation  than 
this  particular  plebe.  But  you  just  ought  to  see 
how  blue  most  of  them  are ! 

"  You  asked  me  not  to  use  tobacco,  and  I  won't. 
It  is  forbidden  in  the  corps,  but  lots  of  them  do 
it.  Frazier  has  a  hard  time.  He  has  been  smok 
ing  cigarettes  two  years,  he  says,  though  his 
mother  doesn't  know  it,  and  he  had  a  lot  in  his 
trunk  when  he  came,  but  had  to  turn  them  all 
over  to  the  old  cadets.  Winn  chews.  He  says 
they  all  did  at  his  home.  But  Mr.  Merrick  made 
him  surrender  his  tobacco — all  he  had ;  but  it's 
easy  enough  to  get  more  at  the  Falls.  Fra 
zier  says  all  you've  got  to  do  is  to  pay  some 
servant  or  drummer -boy.  He  has  money  in 
plenty,  for  his  mother  supplied  him.  They  are 


01 


rich,  I  believe,  and  Frazier  says  his  father  de 
posited  two  hundred  dollars  with  the  treasurer 
to  start  with,  instead  of  the  one  hundred  required. 
Some  boys  haven't  that,  and  couldn't  get  it. 
Connell  said  he  worked  after  hours  for  six 
months  to  raise  enough  to  bring  him  here,  and 
had  fifty  dollars  to  hand  the  treasurer.  It  hurts 
me  to  think  how  you  and  father  must  have 
pinched  and  denied  yourselves  to  raise  the  money 
to  send  me  all  the  way,  and  to  pay  all  these  ex 
penses  and  the  one  hundred  dollars  deposit.  I 
know  now  why  father  couldn't  afford  the  new 
uniform  he  so  much  needed  this  year,  and  I  don't 
know  what  you  must  have  given  up ;  but  I  love 
you,  and  don't  mean  to  let  myself  think  how  I 
envy  Buddie  this  minute,  that  he  is  there  where 
he  can  hear  your  voice  and  see  your  face  and 
touch  and  kiss  you." 

But  here  Pops's  eyes  began  to  fill,  and  the 
letter  had  to  be  put  asidq.  He  was  glad  of  the 
loud,  ringing  summons  on  the  ground -floor, 
"New  cadets,  turn  out  promptly!"  and  just 
dashing  his  hand  across  his  eyes,  went  bound 
ing  down  the  stairs  to  take  his  station  in  the 
ranks. 

And  then  came  the  momentous  day  of  their 
move  into  camp.  All  were  now  in  complete 
fatigue  uniform,  many  thoroughly  drilled,  all 
passably  so,  and  all  eager  to  get  into  the  battal- 


62 


ion,  and  figure,  in  their  own  eyes  at  least,  as  old 
cadets.  Right  after  reveille  roll-call  on  the 
morning  of  the  2d  of  July  they  were  bidden  to 
stow  the  last  of  their  civilian  clothing  in  their 
trunks,  carry  the  trunks  to  the  store-rooms,  roll 
their  bedding  into  convenient  bundles,  and  be 
ready  to  move  the  moment  breakfast  was  over. 
By  half -past  six  the  cavalry  plain,  as  the  turfless 
eastern  half  of  the  broad  open  plateau  is  termed, 
was  covered  with  a  long  straggling  procession  of 
plebes,  bearing  their  burdens  over  to  the  lively 
and  excited  camp.  They  had  been  sized  the 
night  before,  the  taller  half  of  the  class  being 
assigned,  as  was  then  the  custom,  to  the  flank 
companies  of  the  battalion,  while  Pops  and  Con- 
nell  were  told  off  into  Company  B,  the  right 
centre  or  color  company.  Frazier,  always  luck 
less,  as  he  said,  was  one  of  the  plebes  assigned  to 
C  Company,  and  for  a  time  it  looked  as  though 
Pops  were  to  lose  his  prospective  tent-mate.  But 
Mr.  Merrick,  in  brief  official  tones,  announced 
that  exchanges  would  be  permitted  except  from 
flank  to  centre  companies,  and  Frazier  presently 
found  a  meek  little  fellow  named  Willis  who 
said  it  made  no  difference  to  him  which  company 
he  went  to,  so  he  crossed  over  and  took  Frazier's 
place  in  the  C  squad,  and  thus  it  happened  that 
when  they  trudged  across  the  sentry  post  at 
Number  Six,  and  were  directed  to  deposit  their 


63 


bundles  in  Company  B's  bustling  street,  Pops 
and  Frazier  were  once  more  together.  Already 
Geordie  was  beginning  to  doubt  the  wisdom  of 
the  arrangement,  but  he  had  given  his  promise 
to  tent  with  Benny,  and  Avould  keep  it..  All  along 
among  the  tents  the  yearlings  could  be  seen  in 
dulging  in  pantomime,  expressive  of  the  liveliest 
delight  at  these  accessions  to  the  ranks.  Pops 
could  see  them  pointing  out  Frazier,  and  hear 
exclamations :  "  There's  the  plebe  that  ought  to 
be  drilling  the  corps,"  "  Major-General  Frazier," 
etc.,  and  low  laughter  and  chuckles.  But  all 
this  was  done  covertly;  for  Lieutenant  Allen, 
the  army  officer  commanding  the  company,  was 
standing  close  at  hand  with  Cadet  Captain  Leon 
ard,  supervising  the  assignment  of  tents.  Mr. 
Merrick  had  handed  the  cadet  captain  a  list  of 
names  of  those  assigned  to  his  company,  twenty- 
eight  in  all,  and  that  young  soldier  was  now 
keenly  looking  over  his  new  men.  Pops,  saying 
nothing  to  anybody,  was  standing  quietly  by  his 
bundle  of  bedding  waiting  for  orders ;  but  Fra 
zier,  who  had  more  "  cheek,"  as  Connell  expressed 
it,  and  less  discretion,  did  not  hesitate  to  step  up 
to  Lieutenant  Allen,  and  say,  "Mr.  Graham  and 
I  would  like  to  tent  together,  sir." 

The  officer  turned.  "  Which  is  Mr.  Graham  ?" 
he  asked.  "  Call  him  here." 

And  so  in  another  moment  Pops  found  him- 


64 


self  standing  attention  to  his  company  command 
er  and  instructor. 

"  I  am  told  you  wish  to  tent  with  Mr.  Frazier. 
Is  that  the  case  ?" 

Geordie  colored.  The  question  was  so  pat 
and  what  soldiers  call  point-blank.  He  could 
not  truthfully  say  that  he  really  wished  to  share 
Frazier's  fortunes  as  a  tent-mate.  In  the  pursu 
ance  of  the  policy  he  had  mapped  out  for  him 
self  he  would  rather  have  lived  with  some  one 
less  likely  to  be  the  recipient  of  much  attention 
from  the  old  cadets  —  some  one  less  apt  to  be 
perpetually  saying  or  doing  something  to  invite 
their  especial  efforts.  Mr.  Allen  saw  his  hesi 
tancy,  and  spoke  kindly. 

"If  you  think  of  any  one  else  you  would 
rather  tent  with,  I  presume  that  it  can  be  ar 
ranged." 

"  No,  sir,"  answered  Geordie,  finding  voice  at 
last.  "  I  had  thought  of  no  one  else.  I  promised 
Mr.  Frazier." 

«  Very  well,  sir.  Mr.  Leonard,  put  this  young 
gentleman  and  Mr.  Frazier  in  the  same  tent- 
two  more  with  them  Have  you  any  choice, 
Mr.  Graham?" 

"  No,  sir." 

And  then  again  appeared  Frazier,  eager  to 
speak.  "  Connell  and  Foster,  sir,  would  like  to 
tent  with  us." 


65 


The  cadet  officer  looked  interrogatively  at  his 
superior.  Mr.  Allen  briefly  nodded. 

"  Take  that  one,  then,"  said  Mr.  Leonard,  short 
ly,  indicating  a  vacant  tent  on  the  south  side  of 
the  company  street,  at  about  the  middle  of  the 
row. 

"  Come  on,  boys,"  said  Frazier,  eagerly,  assum 
ing  the  leadership  of  his  squad  as  though  by 
vested  right,  and  then  was  brought  up  standing 
by  the  voice  of  his  young  captain. 

"  Mr.  Frazier,"  said  he,  "  the  first  lesson  you 
have  to  learn  is  that  very  new  cadets  should 
only  be  seen,  not  heard ;  and  when  you  are 
heard,  sir,  don't  again  allude  to  members  of  the 
corps  of  cadets  of  the  United  States  Army  as 
boys.  You  are  here  to  be  men,  if  it's  in  you.  If 
it  isn't,  you're  apt  to  get  out  of  it,  sir." 

And  with  this  withering  welcome  to  his  com 
pany,  poor  Frazier  was  permitted  to  go. 

"  That's  another  young  snob,  that  fellow  Leon 
ard  !"  he  confided  to  his  comrades,  in  low  tone, 
as  they  were  depositing  their  few  goods  and 
chattels  in  their  eight-by-ten  domain.  "  I'll  pay 
him  off  for  that  yet,  see  if  I  don't."  Whereat 
Pops  and  Connell  exchanged  glances  and  grins. 

It  took  little  time  to  arrange  their  canvas 
home  in  the  prescribed  military  order.  Pops  was 
a  veteran  campaigner,  and  had  slept  in  many  a 
tent  or  bivouac  in  the  Far  West,  so  the  quarters 


66 


that  struck  his  comrades  as  crowded  were  al 
most  palatial  to  him.  When  they  placed  their 
loads  in  front  of  it  at  six  forty-five,  all  they  .saw 
was  a  trimly-pitched  wall-tent,  the  walls  them 
selves  neatly  looped  up  so  as  to  allow  the  air 
to  circulate  freely,  the  tent  and  its  "  overcoat," 
or  fly,  both  stretched  taut  and  smooth,  without 
crease  or  wrinkle,  a  square,  smooth,  six-inch-high 
platform  or  floor  covering  the  ground  from  front 
tent  pole  almost  to  the  one  in  rear.  An  elongated 
wooden  box  painted  dark  green,  divided  into 
four  compartments,  with  lids  opening  at  the  top, 
extended  almost  from  front  to  rear  of  the  plat 
form  on  the  west  side  of  the  tent.  This  was  to 
be  their  chest  of  drawers.  A  wooden  rod  hung 
about  eighteen  inches  under  the  ridge-pole  ;  this 
was  to  be  their  wardrobe,  and  of  other  furniture 
there  was  none.  Under  the  brief  instruction  of 
a  cadet  corporal  they  began  with  the  rudiments 
of  their  military  house-keeping.  First,  their  four 
big  double  blankets  were  folded  in  a  square  very 
nearly  four  feet  across,  and  with  the  folded  edges 
to  the  front  and  inside,  accurately  piled  one  upon 
the  other.  Then  the  four  pillows  in  their  white 
cases  were  evenly  laid  upon  the  blankets.  Then 
the  four  comforters  or  quilts,  folded  like  the 
blankets,  were  evenly  laid  on  top,  edges  vertical, 
and  that  was  the  way  in  which  the  beds  were 
made  up  every  morning  after  reveille.  The  pile 


_ 


67 


thus  'formed  occupied  the  corner  of  the  floor  op 
posite  the  locker  or  chest  of  drawers  at  the  back 
of  the  tent.  The  locker  was  the  name  given  the 
dark  green  chest,  and  the  "locker"  had  neither 
lock  nor  key.  Under  the  supervision  of  the 
cadet  corporal  the  plebe  quartet  contributed 
the  items  necessary  to  their  summer  house-keep 
ing.  A  looking-glass,  sixteen  by  twelve,  in  a 
plain  wooden  frame,  was  hung  on  the  front  tent 
pole,  tilted  a  trifle  forward  at  the  top.  A  water- 
bucket  was  deposited  at  the  front  edge  of  the 
platform  close  to  the  locker.  A  washbowl,  bot 
tom  outward,  was  leaned  against  the  front  edge 
of  the  platform  close  to  the  bucket.  A  soap-dish 
was  on  the  platform  behind  the  basin.  Candle 
stick,  candles,  cleaning  materials,  etc.,  were  de 
posited  in  a  cylindrical  tin  box  that  stood  at  the 
foot  of  the  rear  tent  pole  behind  the  base  of  the 
arm-rack. 

The  four  rifles,  barrels  to  the  front,  were  stood 
erect,  the  butt  of  each  in  its  wooden  socket  at 
the  back  of  the  floor,  the  muzzle  poked  through 
a  hole  in  the  wooden  shelf  fastened  about  four 
feet  from  the  ground  on  the  rear  tent  pole. 
The  white  webbing  belts,  supporting  the  car 
tridge-box  and  bayonet-scabbard,  were  hung  on 
pegs  projecting  from  the  wooden  shelf.  Shoes, 
"  neatly  blacked  and  dusted  at  all  times,"  were 
aligned  at  the  back  of  the  floor,  toes  to  the  front. 


68 


Such  books  as  were  allowed  were  piled  on  the 
floor  at  the  back  end  of  the  locker.  All  woollen 
uniforms,  overcoats,  rubber  coats,  etc.,  were  to 
be  hung  on  the  hanging-pole.  All  white  trou 
sers,  sheets,  underclothing,  collars,  cuffs,  gloves, 
etc.,  to  be  stored,  each  man's  in  his  own  locker. 
Brushes,  combs,  shaving  utensils  were  stuck  in 
loops  tacked  on  the  inside  of  each  lid.  The  black 
full-dress  shakos  were,  when  procured,  to  be 
neatly  placed  on  the  shelf  of  the  rear  pole,  or 
naments  to  the  front,  and  forage-caps  hung  on 
the  owners'  pegs.  There  was  a  place,  howsoever 
small,  for  everything,  and  everything  was  to  be 
kept  in  its  place. 

By  the  time  the  first  drum  was  beating  for  troop 
parade  everything  was  in  spick-span  order.  The 
officers  had  gone  about  their  duties,  and  a  group 
of  yearlings,  looking  as  though  each  and  every 
one  had  just  stepped  from  a  bandbox,  so  far  as 
his  dress  and  equipments  were  concerned,  quickly 
formed  in  the  company  ground  in  front  of  the 
newly  occupied  "  plebe  hotels,"  the  very  imp  of 
mischief  grinning  in  the  sun-tanned  faces  of  the 
younger  and  more  boyish  members,  but  one  and 
all  full  of  the  liveliest  interest  in  the  appearance 
of  the  new-comers  and  their  household  affairs. 
Comment  and  criticism,  advice  and  suggestions, 
more  or  less  valuable,  were  showered  on  every 
plebe ;  but  even  while  silently  and  good  -  hu- 


moredly  submitting  to  his  fire  of  remarks,  Pops 
could  plainly  see  that  no  tent  was  so  surrounded 
as  their  own.  It  really  seemed  as  though  every 
Third  Class  man  and  many  a  senior  in  Company 
B,  reinforced  by  strong  detachments  from  other 
companies,  had  come  to  claim  the  acquaintance 
of  Major- General  Frazier,  and  furthermore  that 
the  luckless  Benny,  instead  of  maintaining  good- 
humored  reticence,  and  speaking  only  when  he 
had  to,  was  rapidly  adding  to  the  array  of  charges 
laid  at  his  door  by  trying  to  be  smart  in  reply. 
The  sudden  batter  of  the  second  drum  trans 
ferred  the  laughing,  chaffing  crowd  into  two 
silent,  statuesque  ranks,  and  for  the  rest  of  that 
momentous  hour,  while  doing  his  best  to  give  his 
whole  thought  to  drill  and  duty,  Geordie  Graham 
found  himself  thinking,  "  Just  won't  we  catch  it 
to-night!" 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  dusk  of  evening  had  fallen  on  the  Point 
when  the  battalion  broke  ranks,  returning  from 
supper.  A  few  minutes  later,  a  hundred  strong, 
came  the  column  of  plebes,  marching  by  fours, 
looking  even  more  than  usually  sombre  now  in 
their  suits  of  gray,  contrasting  with  the  white 
trousers  and  natty  bell -buttoned  coatees  of  the 
corps,  and  feeling,  doubtless,  more  than  usually 
solemn  in  anticipation  of  the  possible  experiences 
ahead  of  them.  First  night  of  plebe  camp  is  a 
thing  not  soon  to  be  forgotten,  even  in  these 
days  when  pitchy  darkness  no  longer  shrouds 
the  pranks  of  the  yearlings,  and  official  vigilance 
and  protection  have  replaced  what  really  seemed 
tacit  encouragement  and  consent  of  over  thirty 
years  ago.  Then  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for 
the  new  cadet  to  be  dragged  out  ("  yanked,"  was 
the  expression  in  vogue)  and  slid  around  camp 
on  his  dust-covered  blanket  twenty  times  a  night, 
dumped  into  Fort  Clinton  ditch,  tossed  in  a  tent- 
fly,  half  smothered  in  the  folds  of  his  canvas 
home,  tumbled  by  his  tormentors  about  his  ears, 
ridden  on  a  tent  pole  or  in  a  rickety  wheelbar- 


71 


row,  smoked  out  by  some  vile,  slow -burning  py 
rotechnic  compound,  robbed  of  rest  and  sleep, 
at  the  very  least,  after  he  had  been  alternately 
drilled  and  worked  all  the  livelong  day.  Yerily, 
the  hardening  process  of  the  early  sixties  was  a 
thing  that  might  well  be  frowned  down  upon 
and  stamped  out,  but  it  took  stringent  measures 
to  effect  it.  In  great  measure  the  deviling  sys 
tem  was,  so  far  as  its  most  harmful  features  were 
concerned,  but  the  ghost  of  its  old  self  when 
Ralph  McCrea  entered  the  Academy  just  after 
the  Centennial  year.  Then  little  by  little  means 
were  taken  to  make  the  process  still  more  diffi 
cult  to  the  perpetrators,  until  twenty  years  after 
the  War  of  the  Rebellion  hazing  became  indeed 
hazardous.  Officers  were  kept  on  duty  and  on 
the  alert  in  camp  at  all  hours.  Gas-lamps  were 
placed  along  the  sentry  post.  In  every  way  the 
authorities  could  foresee  the  plebe  was  protected 
from  the  more  active  torment  of  the  old  days. 
But  so  long  as  boys  will  be  boys  some  modifica 
tion  must  exist ;  and  as  for  the  year  of  probation 
which  the  new-comer  must  pass  —  the  year  in 
which  he  is  taught  in  every  conceivable  way  that 
he  is  a  creature  far  apart  from  the  rest  of  the 
corps,  a  being  to  be  drilled,  trained,  disciplined, 
badgered,  even  at  times  bullied  —  it  is  really  a 
year  of  most  valuable  experiences,  perhaps  the 
most  valuable  of  the  four.  It  is  this  that  teaches 


him  that  no  matter  what  may  be  the  wealth  or 
social  standing  of  his  relatives,  he  is  no  better 
than  the  humblest  clodhopper  of  his  class.  It  is 
this  year  that  teaches  him  to  look  to  his  own  class 
mates  and  no  others  for  comrades  and  chums.  It 
is  this  that  teaches  him  silence,  patience,  and  for 
titude.  Nine  out  of  ten  of  the  plebes  and  their 
relatives  pronounce  it  inhuman  and  barbarous  so 
long  as  it  applies  to  them  or  theirs.  Ninety-nine 
out  of  a  hundred,  however,  uphold  it  so  soon  as 
their  plebehood  is  done. 

All  this  George  Graham  fully  understood,  and 
was  ready  to  bear  his  part  in  without  a  mur 
mur.  Not  so  his  friend  Benny.  That  young 
gentleman  had  been  too  long  the  prize  boy  at 
school  and  the  spoiled  boy  at  home  to  "  come 
down  gracefully."  Nothing  could  convince  him 
that  the  cadet  officers  had  not  shown  outrageous 
partiality  to  Graham  and  abominable  malice 
towards  himself  in  the  matter  of  advancement 
in  the  school  of  the  soldier.  It  was  worse  still 
when  Connell  stepped  up  into  the  first  squad. 
But  now,  argued  Frazier,  we're  all  starting  fresh 
again.  We're  all  on  a  level  to-day  as  B  Com 
pany  plebes,  but  the  moment  we  are  completely 
uniformed  and  relieved  from  squad  drill  under 
such  brutes  as  Loring  and  Flint,  and  with  our 
own  company  officers,  I'll  soon  show  them  I 
know  a  trick  or  two  far  beyond  them.  But  the 


73 


golden  gift  of  silence  was  something  beyond 
Benny  Frazier,  and  he  couldn't  keep  his  hopeful 
predictions  or  his  boyish  boasts  to  himself.  He 
had  attracted  at  the  outset  the  attention  of  the 
whole  class  of  yearlings,  and,  just  as  Graham 
expected,  their  house-warming  was  all  too  well 
attended. 

Two  minutes  after  their  return  from  supper 
this  particular  "plebe  hotel"  was  surrounded. 
The  yearlings  in  force  had  come  to  call  on  Major- 
General  Frazier.  No  noise  was  made.  Nothing, 
on  their  part,  at  least,  occurred  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  army  officers  in  charge  or  the 
cadet  officers  of  the  guard.  Indeed,  the  latter  are 
most  apt  to  be  particularly  deaf  at  such  times. 
The  darkness  gathered  no  more  quickly,  no  more 
noiselessly,  than  did  the  crowd.  And  doffing 
their  natty  forage-caps,  bowing  with  exaggerated 
politeness,  cadets  Cramer,  Cress  well,  Daggett, 
Driggs,  Elton,  etc.— one  might  go  alphabetically 
through  the  list  of  the  Third  Class  and  hardly 
miss  a  name — begged  the  honor  of  an  interview. 

Benny,  standing  well  back  within  the  tent,  his 
hand  on  his  heart,  bowed,  smiled,  and  protested 
that  nothing  would  give  him  greater  delight  than 
to  meet  the  entire  class  ;  expressed  his  sense  of  the 
high  honor  paid  him,  regretted  that  his  quarters 
were  so  contracted  that  he  could  not  invite  them 
in,  and  was  thereupon  invited  out,  but  begged  to 


74 


be  excused.  Connell  was  lighting  the  candle,  and 
Graham,  seated  on  the  locker,  was  whimsically 
wondering  what  form  the  mischief  would  take, 
when  the  broom  came  up  from  behind  the  locker 
in  most  mysterious  fashion.  Match  and  candle 
both  went  out,  and  an  instant  later  so  did  Benny, 
projected  by  some  mysterious  force  from  behind. 

Pops  and  Connell  were  conscious  of  the  sudden 
arrival  from  under  the  tent  wall  of  three  or  four 
shadowy  forms,  and  of  smothered  laughter  as 
Benny  shot  forward  into  the  company  street,  to 
be  instantly  ingulfed  in  a  swarm  of  active  young 
fellows  in  gray  and  white,  through  whom  it  was 
impossible  to  break  away.  In  an  instant  he  was 
standing  attention,  heels  clamped  together,  knees 
straight,  and  with  anything  but  stiffness,  for  they 
were  trembling  violently,  shoulders  and  elbows 
forced  back,  little  fingers  on  the  seam  of  the 
trousers,  head  high,  and  eyes  straight  to  the 
front — the  attitude  of  the  soldier  in  the  presence 
of  his  superior  officers  as  interpreted  by  his  nat 
ural  enemies,  the  old  cadets.  And  then  began 
the  mad  confusion  of  question,  comment,  and  criti 
cism  ;  dozens  talking  eagerly  at  once,  and  all  de 
manding  reply,  still  making  very  little  noise.  The 
suppressed  tones  could  hardly  be  heard  beyond 
the  company  streets. 

Benny's  personal  history  from  babyhood  to 
date  of  admission  at  the  Point  was  matter  of 


75 


the  liveliest  interest.  No  detail  escaped  inquiry. 
His  military  experiences  as  captain  of  the  high- 
school  cadets  was  a  theme  on  which  it  was  no 
longer  possible  for  him  to  remain  silent.  "With 
the  recollection  of  his  capture  and  incarcera 
tion  in  the  guard  -  tent,  and  Graham's  friendly 
counsel  to  say  nothing  more  than  he  had  to, 
and  that  in  the  simplest  way,  Frazier's  propen 
sity  for  putting  his  foot  in  it  followed  him  even 
here. 

In  the  innocence  of  their  parental  hearts,  Ben 
ny's  father  and  mother  had  brought  to  the  Point 
certain  newspaper  clippings  that  had  given 
them  huge  delight  at  the  date  of  their  appear 
ance  and  of  Benny's  appointment.  For  several 
weeks  he  was  the  envied  of  all  the  boys  in 
Beanton,  the  proud  possessor  of  a  cadetship,  the 
future  general,  the  present  conquering  hero ;  but 
if  Mr.  Frazier  senior  could  have  imagined  what 
woe  those  clippings  were  destined  to  bring  to 
Benny's  door,  he  would  gladly  have  consigned 
them,  their  compounders,  and  compositors,  to  the 
plains.  In  her  maternal  pride  poor  Mrs.  Frazier 
had  given  copies  to  the  mothers  of  other  cadets 
less  favored  of  Providence,  little  dreaming  to 
what  base  uses  they  would  come.  One  of  these, 
a  florid  description  of  the  review  and  drill  of  the 
high-school  cadets  on  the  10th  of  May,  and  the 
presentation  of  medals  to  the  most  distinguished 


76 


of  the  cadet  officers,  concluded  with  a  glowing 
tribute  to  the  "  Wonderful  soldierly  ability  of 
Captain  Benjamin  Franklin  Frazier,  the  only 
son  of  the  Honorable  T.  J.  Frazier,  of  this  city, 
who  was  pronounced  by  the  judges  and  many 
veterans  present  the  most  remarkable  drill-mas 
ter  and  battalion  commander  they  had  ever  seen. 
His  promptness,  presence  of  mind,  and  fine  mili 
tary  bearing,  as  well  as  his  accurate  knowledge 
of  the  tactics,  were  all  astonishing  in  one  so 
young. 

"  The  writer,  who  has  frequently  visited  West 
Point,  is  free  to  say  that  cadets  of  that  famous 
school  are  not  to  be  compared  with  the  high- 
school  cadets  in  the  precision  and  beauty  of  their 
drill,  and  The  Examiner  confidently  predicts  a 
brilliant  career  for  the  appointee  from  the  Sixth 
Congressional  District,  who  will  doubtless  step 
at  once  on  donning  the  West  Point  uniform  into 
the  command  of  one  of  the  cadet  companies  of 
the  national  school." 

The  group  of  yearlings  had  constituted  itself 
an  examining  board,  and  was  propounding  most 
intricate  and  surprising  problems  to  test  Ben 
ny's  knowledge  of  military  tactics.  Suddenly  a 
tall  fellow  came  elbowing  his  way  through  the 
throng. 

"  Mr.  Frazier,"  said  he,  in  tones  at  which  every 
other  voice  was  stilled,  "  you  represent  the  Sixth 


77 


Congressional  District  of  the  Pilgrim  State,  I 
understand." 

"  I  do,  sir,"  answered  Benny,  eyes  still  to  the 
front,  and  wondering  what  was  coming  next. 

"Were  you  a  member  of  the  cadet  corps  of 
the  Beanton  High-school  ?" 

"  I  was,  sir." 

"  Then  it  can  be  no  one  but  yourself  to  whom 
this  article  refers.  Gentlemen,  fall  back !  Hold 
a  candle  here,  somebody.  JVtr.  Frazier,  we  will 
now  permit  you  to  give  an  exhibition  of  your 
ability  to  read  aloud  in  the  open  air  so  as  to 
be  distinctly  understood  by  your  troops.  Your 
services  as  adjutant  -  general  may  be  needed  at 
any  moment.  Read  this  carefully,  now."  And 
on  a  foot  square  of  card- board  poor  Benny  saw 
before  his  startled  eyes  the  very  paragraph  of 
all  others  Graham  had  warned  him  against  let 
ting  any  old  cadet  get  hold  of.  It  was  pasted 
on  the  board.  He  could  not  tear  it.  Oh,  what 
would  he  not  have  given  to  burn  every  word  and 
line !  "  Read,  sir,"  ordered  the  cadet  in  author 
ity,  evidently  a  First  Class  man. 

"Read,  sir,"  in  solemn  unison  chorussed  some 
fifty  yearlings.  In  vain  he  protested,  in  vain  he 
begged  off.  The  audience  was  inexorable. 

In  low  tone  at  first,  but  elevating  his  voice  in 
response  to  imperative  "  Louder !"  from  every  side, 
he  tried  to  slur  and  scurry  through,  but  "  Slower, 


78 


sir."  "Enunciate  carefully,  sir,"  were  the  next 
orders,  and  he  had  to  obey.  Now  the  only  inter 
ruption  was  a  faint  groan  of  dismay  from  some 
apparently  scandalized  cadet.  At  last  he  finished, 
and  dropped  the  board  and  his  eyes  both  in  con 
fusion.  Dead  silence  for  a  moment.  Then  the 
circle  widened.  The  cadets,  as  though  awe-strick 
en,  fell  slowly  back.-  The  solemn  voice  was  heard. 

"  And  to  think  that  this  paragon  has  been  mis 
taken  for  an  ordinary  plebe  !  It  is  incomprehen 
sible  !  Mr.  Frazier  —  Captain  Frazier  —  will  you 
have  the  goodness  to  read  that  just  once  more  ?" 

Frazier  would  have  refused,  but  some  lingering 
grain  of  sense  told  him  the  better  course  was  now 
to  obey.  Once  more  he  began,  his  progress  this 
time  being  punctuated  by  occasional  muttered 
exclamations  —  "  Astonishing !"  "  Prodigious !" 
"  I  knew  there  was  extraordinary  power  in  that 
face  the  first  time  I  set  eyes  on  it !"  li  Merciful 
heavens !  to  think  that  we  were  on  the  point  of 
asking  a  man  so  distinguished  to  sing  for  us !" 
This  was  too  much  for  Connell.  From  the  dark 
interior  of  the  tent  came  a  gurgle  of  suppressed 
laughter.  Instantly  two  or  three  yearlings  heard 
him,  heaved  him  up  on  his  feet,  and  hustled  him 
forth  into  the  company  ground.  Unparalleled 
audacity ! — a  plebe  laughing  at  the  recital  of  the 
deeds  of  Major-General  Frazier !  The  circle  gave 
way  to  right  and  left,  and  Connell  was  shouldered 


79 


into  the  midst,  and  made  to  stand  facing  his  luck 
less  tent-mate  until  the  second  reading  was  fin 
ished.  Then,  even  as  poor  Benny  was  hoping 
that  Connell's  coming  was  to  distract  in  a  meas 
ure  their  attention  from  himself,  the  same  deep 
voice  was  heard  declaring  that  this  was  too  im 
portant  matter  to  be  kept  from  the  rest  of  the 
corps.  "  March  over  to  A  Company  !"  was  the 
word.  Benny  never  knew  how  it  was  done.  In 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye  in  silence  the  mass  be 
gan  to  move,  Benny  and  Connell  borne  helplessly 
along.  Resistance  was  useless.  Not  a  hand  was 
laid  upon  them,  but  not  a  gap  was  seen  through 
which  they  could  escape.  In  another  moment 
all  B  Company,  except  its  plebe  contingent,  re 
inforced  by  detachments  of  Third  Class  men 
from  all  over  camp,  was  crowded  into  A  Com 
pany's  street,  and  gravely  presenting  Major-Gen 
eral  Frazier  to  the  officials  of  the  right  flank  com 
pany,  and  demanding  the  third  reading  of  The 
Examiner's  clipping.  Poor  Benny  !  Not  until  the 
tattoo  drums  began  to  beat  far  over  across  the 
Plain  was  he  released  from  limbo.  During  that 
time  he  had  been  exhibited  in  every  street  in 
camp,  had  favored  all  four  companies  with  ex 
tracts  from  his  biography,  and  was  bidden  to  be 
able  to  recite  it  verbatim  et  literatim  on  the  mor 
row  on  pain  of  having  to  read  it  ten  times  over 
for  every  slip. 


80 


Meantime,  thanks  to  the  overwhelming  inter 
est  attaching, to  the  arrival  in  camp  of  their  com 
rade,  the  general,  Geordie  and  the  bulk  of  the 
plebe  class  were  having  a  comparatively  easy 
time.  They  sat  or  stood  guard  over  their  few 
belongings  in  the  darkness  of  their  tents  much 
of  the  evening  until  turned  out  for  roll-call.  Oc 
casionally  some  old  cadets  would  suggest  that 
they  "  turn  out  the  guard,"  form  ranks,  and  ren 
der  the  honors  of  war  when  Major- General  Fra- 
zier  and  his  escort  marched  through  the  company 
street.  A  young  gentleman  with  corporal's  chev 
rons  on  his  sleeves  called  Mr.  Graham's  attention 
to  the  fact  that  most  of  the  water-buckets  of  the 
old  cadets'  tents  needed  replenishing;  and  Pops 
said  nothing,  but  took  them  two  at  a  time  to  the 
tank  down  by  the  sentry  post  of  Number  Three, 
filled  and  replaced  them.  This  done,  he  was  in 
vited  to  Mr.  Proctor's  tent  to  see  how  cadet  beds 
were  made  for  the  night,  and,  under  Mr.  Proc 
tor's  tutelage,  spread  the  blankets,  etc.,  on  the 
wooden  floor,  and  was  informed  that  at  the 
sounding  of  police-call  after  reveille  in  the  morn 
ing  he  would  receive  further  instruction  in  the 
correct  methods  of  cleaning  up  and  putting  in 
order  everything  in  and  around  the  tents,  on  re 
porting  in  person  to  Mr.  Proctor.  In  all  this  Mr. 
Proctor's  manner  was  grave  and  dignified.  He 
gave  no  orders,  made  no  demands ;  could  not  be 


81 


said  to  have  exacted  of  a  new  cadet  the  perform 
ance  of  any  menial  or  degrading  task,  the  penalty 
for  which,  as  well  as  for  hazing,  improperly  mo 
lesting  or  interfering  with  or  annoying  new  ca 
dets,  was  court-martial  and  dismissal.  Pops  ac 
cepted  his  lesson  without  a  word,  and  when  tattoo 
sounded  and  the  plebes  were  assembled  for  the 
last  time  that  evening,  forming  on  the  general 
parade,  as  the  open  space  between  the  right  and 
left  wings  of  camp  was  termed,  he  felt  that  he 
had  got  off  very  easily. 

"  Now  go  to  your  tents ;  make  down  your  bed 
ding  just  as  you  were  taught  in  barracks  ;  do  not 
remove  your  shirts  or  drawers  or  socks ;  hang 
up  your  uniforms  where  each  man  can  get  his 
own  in  an  instant ;  put  your  shoes  and  caps 
where  you  can  get  them  in  the  dark,  if  need  be ; 
turn  in  and  blow  your  candle  out  before  the  drum 
strikes  '  taps,'  at  ten.  After  that,  not  a  sound ! 
Get  to  sleep  as  soon  as  you  can,  and  be  ready  to 
form  here  at  reveille."  So  spake  Cadet  Corporal 
Loring,  adding,  "  Break  ranks.  March !"  as  re 
quired  by  the  drill  regulations  of  the  day.  And 
at  last  poor  Benny,  ruffled  and  exhausted,  was 
allowed  to  go  to  his  tent. 

"Oh,  I'll  get  square  with  that  gang!  Just 
wait  until  I'm  on  guard  some  night  next  week," 
whispered  he  to  Pops.  "  You  caught  it  nicely 
for  laughing,  Connell.  Next  time  perhaps  you 


won't  be  so  ready  to  chuckle  when  they're  mak 
ing  fun  of  a  fellow's  relatives." 

In  his  general  disgust  Frazier  was  ready  to 
growl  at  anybody  who  had  suffered  less  than  he 
had.  "  Misery  loves  company  "  the  world  over. 
Little  time  was  wasted  getting  into  their  blank 
ets  for  the  night,  little  more  in  getting  to  sleep. 
The  last  thing  heard  before  the  signal  for  "  lights 
out "  was  Benny's  repetition  of  the  vague  threat, 
"  Just  wait  until  I  get  on  guard,  then  I'll  show 
'em." 

And  now  followed  three  or  four  days  of  cease 
less  drill  and  duty.  The  plebes  still  "  herded 
together,"  as  the  old  cadets  expressed  it — formed 
by  themselves  for  roll-call,  drill,  and  marching 
to  meals.  They  were  granted  a  half-holiday  after 
the  chapel  exercises  on  the  glorious  Fourth,  and 
Geordie  spent  the  lovely  afternoon  with  Connell 
and  others  in  a  climb  to  the  top  of  Crow's  Nest, 
and  in  the  enjoyment  of  one  of  the  most  glorious 
views  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  On  the  5th  their 
drills  in  the  school  of  the  soldier  were  reduced  to 
two,  in  big  consolidated  squads,  and  the  whole 
class  began  instruction  at  the  field  battery  south 
of  camp  at  nine  each  morning,  and  then  were 
marched  to  the  academic  building  at  half-past 
ten,  to  be  put  through  their  paces  at  the  hands  of 
the  dancing-master. 

Immediately  after  the  return  of  the  corps  from 


dinner  on  the  5th,  Cadet  Corporal  Loring  read 
from  the  list  in  his  hand  some  twenty  names, 
Graham's  among  them,  and  followed  it  with  the 
brief  order  to  those  named  to  fall  in  at  two 
o'clock.  Comparing  notes,  it  was  found  that 
most  of  them  were  members  of  what  had  been 
called  the  first  squad.  No  one  knew  what  it 
meant  until  just  before  police-call  at  four  o'clock, 
when  the  party  came  marching  back  to  camp, 
each  man  burdened  with  clothing.  Frazier's  face 
was  a  study  when  Pops  and  Connell  returned 
to  the  tent,  hung  their  glistening  new  uniform 
coats  on  the  rack,  folded  their  ten  pairs  of  white 
trousers  in  the  lockers,  and  tried  the  effect  of  the 
natty  dress  hats  in  the  little  looking-glass.  Like 
many  another  boy,  Benny  was  learning  that  there 
was  a  wide  difference  between  the  official  and 
the  family  estimate  of  his  military  aptitude. 
The  idea  that  twenty  of  his  class-mates  could  be 
put  in  full  uniform  and  readiness  for  guard  duty 
and  he  not  one  of  them  was  something  that  had 
not  occurred  to  him  as  a  possibility. 

"  Mr.  Graham,  get  ready  to  march  on  guard 
to-morrow  morning,"  said  Loring  to  Pops  that 
evening  just  before  retreat  roll-call.  "  You,  too, 
Mr.  Connell." 

And  that  evening  the  plebes  of  B  Company 
congregated  for  an  hour  about  the  tent  to  see 
the  preparations  of  their  first  representatives.  In 


84 


some  way  the  word  had  gone  around  that  Gra 
ham  was  "  getting  a  shine  on  his  gun  "  the  like 
of  which  no  one  had  seen  before.  Frazier,  with 
others  of  his  class,  luckless  fellows  who  by  un 
guarded  use  of  their  tongues  had  made  them 
selves  conspicuous,  were,  as  usual,  entertaining  a 
circle  of  old  cadets,  who  demanded  songs,  recita 
tions,  dissertations,  anything  to  keep  them  busy 
and  miserable,  and  so  it  was  tattoo  before  Frazier 
came  back  to  the  tent.  Almost  the  last  thing 
given  to  Geordie  by  his  old  friends  of  the  caval 
ry  before  he  came  away  from  Fort  Reynolds 
was  a  complete  kit  for  cleaning  and  polishing 
arms  and  accoutrements.  Many  an  hour  of  his 
boyhood  had  been  spent  watching  the  men  at 
work  on  their  arms,  pouches,  boxes,  sling-belts, 
etc.,  and  learning  how  to  put  the  handsomest 
polish  on  either  brown  steel  or  black  walnut. 
Buff  board,  heel  ball,  beeswax,  linseed  oil — all 
their  stock  in  trade  he  had  long  since  found  the 
use  of,  and  already  his  rifle  and  accoutrements 
had  been  touched  up  as  new  cadets  never  saw 
them ;  but  not  until  this  evening  had  he  unboxed 
his  trooper  kit;  and  with  a  dozen  class-mates 
eagerly  looking  on,  Geordie  squatted  on  his  pile 
of  blankets  and  worked  away  by  candle-light. 
Ten  of  the  plebe  class  had  been  warned  for 
guard,  and  notified  to  appear  in  full  uniform 
so  that  they  might  undergo  preliminary  inspec- 


85 


tion.  Nearly  ninety  eager  boys,  still  in  Quaker 
gray,  swarmed  about  these  distinguished  and 
envied  pioneers  as  they  successively  arrived. 
But  the  greatest  interest  centred  in  the  B  Com 
pany  contingent.  Graham  purposely  kept  to 
his  tent  until  the  moment  before  the  assembly 
sounded,  but  even  among  the  yearlings  there 
were  nods  of  approbation  and  comments  of 
"  Well  done,  plebe,"  as  he  came  forth,  catching 
the  pompon  of  his  shako  in  the  tent-flap  as  he 
did  so,  and  blushing  not  a  little  in  consequence. 
Connell,  too,  had  patterned  by  his  friend's  ex 
perience.  Their  cartridge  -  boxes  had  of  course 
been  varnished,  just  as  were  those  of  the  rest 
of  the  corps,  but  the  bronzed  bayonet  scabbards 
and  their  leather  attachments  wore  a  gloss  and 
polish  new  even  to  the  eyes  of  the  old  cadets. 
Luckily  for  the  two  the  voice  of  Mr.  Loring 
was  heard  ordering  them  to  "  Step  out  lively," 
and  they  escaped  for  the  moment  the  scrutiny 
and  question  of  the  yearlings.  But  the  whole 
plebe  class  heard  a  few  minutes  later  Mr.  Mer- 
rick's  "  Very  well  indeed,  Mr.  Graham,"  at  sight 
of  the  sturdy  young  fellow's  glistening  equip 
ments  and  snowy  belts.  Then  he  took  the  rifle 
which  Geordie  had  tossed  up  to  the  "  inspec 
tion  arms"  of  the  old  tactics,  and  with  evident 
surprise  in  his  tone,  as  well  as  satisfaction,  ex 
claimed  : 


"  Where  did  you  learn  to  clean  a  rifle  like  this, 
sir?" 

"  Oat  West  among  the  soldiers,"  was  the  brief 
reply. 

The  commandant,  with  Lieutenant  Allen,  came 
along  at  the  moment  to  take  a  look  at  the  first 
representatives  of  the  new  class  for  guard.  As 
luck  would  have  it,  Graham  and  Connell  were 
about  the  last  of  the  ten,  and  were  at  the  left  of 
the  squad.  All  looked  neat  and  trim,  and  Mr. 
Merrick  had  made  his  selection  with  care;  but 
the  expert  eye  rarely  fails  to  find  something 
about  one's  initial  appearance  in  uniform  that 
betrays  the  plebe.  The  Colonel  made  no  com 
ment  until  he  reached  Connell.  Then  he  turned 
to  Mr.  Allen. 

"  Yery  neat  and  soldierly,  especially  here  on 
the  left,"  he  said. 

Cadet  Merrick,  without  a  word,  held  up  Gra 
ham's  rifle.  The  Colonel  took  it,  glanced  quickly 
along  the  polished  weapon,  and  then  at  Geordie, 
standing  steadily  at  attention,  with  his  blue  eyes 
straight  to  the  front. 

"You  must  have  seen  service,  sir,"  he  said, 
with  a  smile.  "  That's  a  very  handsome  rifle," 
and  handed  it  back. 

"  Who  is  that  young  gentleman  ?"  asked  he  of 
Lieutenant  Allen,  as  they  turned  away. 

And  then — alas  for  all  McCrea's  kindly  advice ! 


87 


alas  for  all  his  own  precautions! — our  Geordie 
heard  Mr.  Allen's  reply.  It  was  meant  to  be 
for  the  Colonel  alone.  It  reached,  however,  the 
strained  and  attentive  ears  of  half  the  plebe  con 
tingent.  His  days  of  modest  retirement  were 
at  an  end ;  his  time  for  plague,  pestilence,  and 
torment  was  come. 

"  That's  Mr.  Graham,  Ealph  McCrea's  protege'. 
You've  heard  of  him  before,  Colonel ;  that's  '  Cor 
poral  Pops.' " 

The  instant  the  order  "Break  ranks!"  was 
given,  Benny  Frazier  rushed  upon  Geordie  with 
delight  almost  too  eager,  and  loudly  hailed  him 
as  Corporal  Pops.  The  pet  name  of  his  boy  days 
had  followed  him  to  the  Point. 


CHAPTER  VI 

IT  takes  but  little  time  for  a  boy  to  win  a 
nickname  in  the  corps  of  cadets,  though  a  life 
time  may  not  rid  him  of  it.  Physical  peculiari 
ties  are  turned  to  prompt  account,  and  no  account 
is  taken  of  personal  feelings.  Certain  fixed  rules 
obtain  as  to  the  eldest  and  youngest  of  each  class. 
They  are  respectively  "  Dad  "  and  "  Babe."  Oth 
erwise  a  young  fellow  becomes  "  Fatty  "  or  "  Skin 
ny,"  "Whity"  or  " Cuffy,"  "Beauty"  (if  ugly), 
"Curly,"  or  "Pinky,"  "Shanks"  or  "Legs," 
"  Bones,"  etc.,  if  in  any  way  remarkable  from  an 
anatomical  point  of  view ;  "  Sissy,"  "  Fanny," 
"Carrie,"  if  rosy -cheeked  and  clear  -  skinned, 
whether  otherwise  effeminate  or  not.  All  these, 
more  or  less,  depended  upon  physical  charms 
or  faults,  and  these  are  apt  to  be  settled  at  the 
start.  So,  too,  such  titles  as  "  Parson,"  "  Deacon," 
"  Squire."  Others  come  in  as  lasting  mementos 
of  some  unfortunate  break  in  recitation  or  blun 
der  in  drill. 

But  no  term  or  title  is  so  calculated  to  convey 
with  it  so  much  of  exasperation  in  the  case  of  the 
plebe,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  as  one  which  is  ex- 


89 


clusively  military.  Just  why  this  should  be  so  it 
is  difficult  to  explain.  The  end  and  aim  of  West 
Point  existence  is  the  winning  of  a  commission 
that  opens  the  way  to  a  series,  perhaps,  of  mili 
tary  titles ;  yet  let  a  plebe  be  saddled  with  some 
such  appendage  to  his  name,  and  all  the  explana 
tions  in  the  world  cannot  save  him  from  miscon 
ception  and  annoyance. 

From  the  time  a  new  cadet  is  fairly  in  uniform 
and  a  member  of  the  battalion,  he  has  perhaps  no 
higher  ambition  than  that  of  being  made  a  cor 
poral  at  the  end  of  his  year  of  probation.  It  is 
indeed  a  case  where  "many  are  called  but  few 
chosen."  Four  out  of  live  are  doomed  to  disap 
pointment,  but  the  head  of  the  class  in  scholarship 
stands  not  so  high  in  cadet  esteem  as  he  who  heads 
the  list  of  officers.  To  be  made  senior  corporal  at 
the  end  of  the  first  year,  and,  as  such,  acting  ser 
geant-major,  or  first  sergeant  throughout  camp, 
in  the  absence  of  the  Second  Class  or  furlough 
men,  is  to  be  the  envied  of  almost  every  other 
yearling ;  but  to  have  conferred  upon  one  in  his 
plebe  camp  by  common  consent  the  title  of  "  Cor 
poral  "  carries  with  it  a  weight  of  annoyance  lit 
tle  appreciated  outside  of  the  gray  battalion ;  and 
it  was  Geordie  Graham's  luck  to  begin  his  very 
first  tour  of  guard  duty  with  this  luckless  han 
dle — that,  too,  coupled  with  the  diminutive  of 
"Pops." 


90 


Even  as  he  paced  up  and  down  the  shaded  path 
of  Number  Three,  he  could  hear  the  mischievous 
delight  with  which  the  old  cadets  pointed  him 
out  as  the  new  corporal,  and  could  not  but  hear 
the  somewhat  malicious  allusions  made  by  his 
own  classmates,  some  of  whom  (for  there  is  a 
heap  of  human  nature  in  every  plebe  class  that 
has  to  be  hammered  out  of  it  in  course  of  time) 
were  not  very  sorry  to  see  a  cloud  of  worry  gath 
ering  over  the  first  of  their  number  to  win  praise 
for  soldierly  excellence,  and  none  were  more 
ready  —  hard  as  it  may  be  to  say  so  —  than  his 
tent-mate  Frazier. 

Geordie  swallowed  it  all  in  silence,  vigilantly 
walking  the  post  assigned  him,  paying  strict  at 
tention  to  the  instructions  given  him  every  few 
moments  by  the  officers  of  the  guard.  Time  and 
again,  as  a  boy,  he  had  played  at  walking  post  in 
front  of  the  doctor's  quarters,  punctiliously  salut 
ing  officers  in  the  daytime,  and  sternly  challeng 
ing  after  dark  before  being  hustled  off  to  bed. 
All  this  stood  him  in  good  stead  now.  He  had 
studied  the  cool,  professional  way  of  the  regu 
lars  on  sentry  duty,  and  looked  far  more  at  home 
on  post  this  bright  July  day  than  any  of  his  class 
mates.  Both  Lieutenant  Allen,  who  was  officer 
in  charge,  and  Cadet  Captain  Leonard,  who  was 
officer  of  the  day,  said,  "Very  well  indeed,  sir!" 
as  he  repeated  the  long  list  of  his  instructions. 


91 


It  galled  him  to  think  that  when  gentlemen  of 
their  standing  should  treat  him  with  such  respect, 
and  when  the  general  regulations  of  the  army 
provided  that  all  persons  of  whatsoever  rank  in 
the  service  should  observe  respect  towards  sen 
tries,  so  many  old  cadets,  lolling  in  the  shade  of 
their  tent -flies  in  Company  A,  so  many  class 
mates  skipping  along  inside  his  post  on  the  path 
leading  to  the  shoeblack's  or  the  water -tank, 
should  make  audible  comments  about  the  "  cor 
poral  on  post." 

His  life  had  been  spent  on  the  frontier,  where 
the  safety  of  the  camp  depended  on  the  vigilance 
of  the  sentry,  and  where  no  man,  high  or  low,  be 
haved  towards  a  soldier  on  such  duty  except  with 
the  utmost  respect.  He  remembered  what  Mc- 
Crea  had  told  him,  that  even  as  a  sentry  on  post- 
indeed,  more  so  at  such  times  than  at  any  other, 
so  long  as  he  was  green  and  unaccustomed  to  the 
duty — it  was  the  habit  of  the  old  cadets  in  the 
old  days  to  "devil"  and  torment  the  plebe  in 
every  conceivable  way.  But  Geordie  argued  that 
he  was  not  green.  He  knew  the  main  points  of 
sentry  duty  as  well  as  any  cadet,  though  nowhere 
are  the  finer  points,  the  more  intricate  tests,  so 
taught  as  they  are  at  the  Military  Academy. 

It  was  actually  his  misfortune  that  he  knew 
so  much.  Geordie  Graham  might  have  been 
spared  many  an  hour  of  trouble  and  injustice 


and  misrepresentation  had  he  not  been  imbued 
with  the  soldier  idea  of  the  sacred  character  of 
the  sentinel.  It  was  one  thing  to  submit  to 
the  unwritten  laws  and  customs  of  the  corps  of 
cadets,  so  long  as  they  were  applied  to  him  in 
his  personal  capacity.  It  was  a  very  different 
matter,  however,  in  his  judgment,  to  be  inter 
fered  with  or  molested  as  a  member  of  the  guard. 

His  first  "two  hours  on"  in  the  morning  passed 
without  material  annoyance,  for  most  of  the 
corps  were  out  of  camp  at  drill.  At  dinner-time, 
after  marching  down  with  the  guard,  he  found 
his  class-mates  at  the  B  Company  table,  to 
which  he  had  been  assigned,  awaiting  his  com 
ing  with  no  little  eagerness ;  but  as  the  yearlings 
began  their  quizzing  the  instant  he  took  his  seat 
and  unfolded  his  napkin,  Frazier  and  Burns  were 
forced  to  be  silent.  Connell  had  remained  with 
the  relief  posted  at  camp  during  the  absence  of 
the  battalion,  so  Pops  had  his  fire  to  undergo 
all  alone.  The  Third  Class  men  hailed  him,  of 
course,  by  his  recently  discovered  title. 

"  Ah !  the  cavalry  corporal  of  Camp  Coyote !" 
exclaimed  Mr.  Riggs,  the  nearest  of  his  torment 
ors.  "Corporal,  suppose  that  you  found  your 
post  suddenly  invaded  at  night,  sir,  by  the  simul 
taneous  appearance  of  the  general -in -chief  and 
staff  on  the  east,  the  commandant  and  corporal 
of  the  guard  on  the  west,  the  superintendent  and 


ON    GUARD   DUTY 


a  brass -band  on  the  north,  Moses  and  the  ten 
commandments  on  the  south,  and  the  ghost  of 
Horace  Greeley  on  the  other  side,  which  would 
you  first  advance  with  the  countersign  ?" 

Mr.  Woods,  another  young  gentleman  whose 
years  at  the  Academy  had  conferred  upon  him 
the  right  to  catechise,  wished  to  be  informed  what 
Corporal  Graham's — er — excuse  me  —  Corporal 
Pops' s — course  would  be  in  the  event  of  a  night 
attack  of  Sioux  squaws  upon  his  post.  A  third 
young  gentleman  demanded  to  be  informed  if  he 
had  ever  been  regularly  posted  as  a  sentry  before, 
and  to  this  question  Pops  truthfully  answered 
"  No,  sir,"  and  went  on  eating  his  dinner  as  plac 
idly  as  he  could,  keeping  up  a  good-natured  grin 
the  while,  and  striving  not  to  be  ruffled. 

But  Frazier,  smarting  under  his  own  worri- 
ments,  jealous,  too,  of  the  comments  that  he  had 
overheard  from  the  lips  of  fair-minded  cadets, 
who  could  not  but  notice  Graham's  easy  mastery 
of  sentry  duty,  was  only  waiting  for  a  chance  to 
give  Pops  a  dig  on  his  own  account.  At  last  the 
chance  seemed  to  come,  and  Benny,  eager  to  show 
old  cadets  and  new  comrades  both  how  much 
more  a  Beantonlligh-school  cadet  knew  of  sentry 
duty  than  a  frontier  plebe,  lucklessly  broke  forth : 

"Nice  blunder  you  made  this  morning,  Gra 
ham,  turning  your  back  on  the  officer  of  the 
day,  instead  of  facing  him  and  saluting !"  And 


94 


Benny  looked  triumphantly  about  him.  The  oth 
er  plebes  within  hearing  pricked  up  their  ears,  as 
a  matter  of  course. 

"  Is  that  so  ?"  asked  Pops.     "  When  was  it  ?" 

"  Oh,  you  needn't  pretend  you  didn't  see  him ! 
I  saw  you  ;  so  did  Green  here.  Didn't  I,  Green  ? 
I  spoke  of  it  at  the  time.  You  looked  right  at 
him  as  he  came  around  from  A  Company  street 
past  the  adjutant's  tent,  and  instead  of  stop 
ping  and  presenting  arms  you  deliberately  turned 
your  back  on  him,  and  stood  facing  Fort  Clinton 
while  he  passed  along  behind  you." 

Alas,  poor  Benny !  Even  yet  he  had  not  be 
gun  to  learn  how  dangerous  a  thing  was  a  little 
learning.  Graham's  reply  was  perfectly  quiet 
and  placid. 

"  I  was  taught  this  morning  that  when  an  offi 
cer  passed  along  in  rear  of  the  post  without  at 
tempting  to  cross  it,  simply  to  stand  at  a  carry, 
facing  outwards.  I  never  heard  of  its  being  done 
any  other  way." 

"  Ho,  ho  !"  laughed  Benny.  "  Why,  the  very 
first  thing  a  soldier's  taught  is  to  look  towards 
the  officer  he  salutes,  and  never  to  turn  his  back. 
Ain't  it  so,  Mr.  Cross?"  he  asked,  confidently  and 
appealingly  of  the  corporal  of  the  guard,  who 
had  arisen,  listening  with  a  grin  on  his  face  while 
pulling  on  his  gloves. 

"You  have  a  heap  to  learn  yet,  young  man," 


95 


was  the  withering  reply.  "  A  sentry  always  faces 
outward  in  camp  when  an  officer  passes  by,  even 
if  he  passes  behind  his  post,  in  which  case  he 
doesn't  even  salute.  I  gave  Mr.  Graham  those 
orders  myself,  sir." 

Pops  was  wise  enough  to  hold  his  peace,  and 
never  admit  that  he  knew  it  all  before ;  nor 
did  he  join  in  the  burst  of  laughter  at  Ben 
ny's  expense.  Frazier,  indignant,  discomfited, 
shamed  again  before  them  all,  glared  wrath- 
fully  at  his  tent-mate,  as  though  it  were  all  his 
fault. 

But  it  would  never  do  to  let  a  plebe  come  off 
with  such  flying  colors,  argued  Mr.  Woods,  of 
the  yearlings.  One  after  another,  insistently,  he 
pressed  Geordie  with  all  manner  of  points  in 
sentry  duty,  and  all  that  were  not  broad  bur 
lesque  were  answered  correctly,  though  it  was 
evident  that  Pops  was  getting  annoyed.  At  last, 
just  before  the  order  to  rise  was  given,  the  year 
ling  leaned  half-way  across  the  table. 

"  Now,  suppose  I  was  to  come,  sir,  in  the  dead 
of  night  to  your  sentry  post,  and  demand,  as  your 
superior  officer,  that  you  give  me  up  your  gun, 
what  would  you  do  ?" 

There  was  strained  silence  among  the  plebes 
for  a  moment.  Geordie's  blue  eyes,  blazing  a  lit 
tle,  were  looking  straight  into  the  frowning  face 
of  his  tormentor. 


"  Do  you  mean  without  the  countersign?  With 
out  being  an  officer  of  the  guard  ?" 

"  Exactly,  sir.  Simply  as  your  superior  officer 
— as  an  old  cadet  to  a  plebe,  sir." 

The  answer  came  in  low  tone,  but  without  a 
quaver,  and  every  man  at  the  table  heard  it. 

"  I'd  let  you  have  it,  butt  foremost,  between 
the  eyes." 

The  sudden  order  for  Company  B  to  rise,  in 
the  voice  of  the  first  captain,  put  instant  end  to 
this  exciting  colloquy.  Foster  gave  his  leg  a 
loud  slap  of  delight.  Even  Benny  rejoiced  in  the 
display  of  what  he  called  "  Graham's  grit."  Mr. 
Woods  made  a  spring  as  though  to  come  around 
to  Graham's  side  of  the  table,  but.  Cadet  Captain 
Leonard,  officer  of  the  day,  was  standing  not 
forty  feet  away,  and  his  attention  was  evidently 
attracted.  A  class-mate  seized  Woods  by  the 
arm. 

"  Not  here,  not  now,  Jimmy,"  he  cautioned. 
"  We'll  'tend  to  that  plebe  later." 

Before  the  guard  broke  ranks  on  its  return  to 
camp  the  battalion  had  scattered,  and  the  year 
lings  of  Company  B  were  in  excited  consultation. 
A  plebe  had  threatened  to  strike  Woods,  was  the 
explanation,  and  in  the  unwritten  code  that  has 
obtained  at  the  Point  from  time  immemorial  that 
meant  fight. 

"  Nothing  can  be  done  till  he  marches  off  guard 


97 


to-morrow,  "Woods,"  said  the  First  Class  man  to 
whom  the  matter  was  referred.  "  That  '11  be 
time  enough  to  settle  it." 

But  meantime  Geordie  was  destined  to  un 
dergo  further  experiences. 

That  morning  at  guard -mounting  the  junior 
officer  of  the  guard  inspecting  the  rear  rank  had 
very  rigidly  scrutinized  every  item  of  Graham's 
dress  and  equipment,  handing  back  his  rifle  with 
a  look  of  disappointment,  as  though  he  really 
wanted  to  find  something  he  could  condemn. 
Even  a  junior  cadet  lieutenant  seems  to  consider 
it  a  mistake  to  be  compelled  to  approve  of  any 
thing  a  plebe  can  do. 

But  presently  along  came  the  adjutant,  to 
whom,  as  was  customary,  those  old  cadets  of 
the  guard  who  desired  to  "try  for  colors"  tossed 
up  a  second  time  their  rifles,  inviting  his  inspec 
tion.  Trying  for  colors  used  to  be  quite  a  cere 
mony  in  itself.  The  color-line  in  camp  at  West 
Point  extends  along  the  front  of  what  is  called 
the  body  of  camp  and  parallel  with  its  western 
side.  It  is  the  line  along  which  the  battalion 
holds  morning  and  evening  parade,  and  along 
which  all  four  companies  stack  their  arms  im 
mediately  after  "  troop."  The  color-bearer  furls 
the  flag,  and  lays  it  upon  the  centre  stacks ; 
a  sentry  is  immediately  posted,  and  there  the 
colors  and  the  stacks  remain  until  4  P.M.,  unless 


it  should  rain.  All  persons  going  in  or  out  of 
camp  must  pass  around  the  flanks  of  the  line, 
and  in  so  doing  raise  the  cap  or  helmet  in  salute 
to  the  flag.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  sentry  on  colors 
to  see  that  this  is  done.  Even  civilians  who  may 
be  invited  into  camp  by  officers  are  expected  to 
show  the  same  deference. 

Now  an  ordinary  member  of  the  guard  has  to 
walk  post  eight  hours  during  his  tour  of  twenty- 
four,  two  hours  on  and  four  off,  but  the  color 
sentries  had  only  the  time  from  about  8.45  A.M. 
to  4  P.M.  to  cover — less  than  two  and  a  half  hours 
apiece — and  at  night  they  were  permitted  to  go 
to  their  own  tents  and  sleep,  while  their  com 
rades  of  the  guard  were  walking  post  in  the  dew 
and  darkness  or  storm  and  rain ;  for  never  for  an 
instant,  day  or  night,  are  the  sentry  posts  around 
cadet  camp  vacated,  by  authority  at  least,  from 
the  hour  of  the  corps'  marching  in  late  in  June 
until  the  fall  of  the  snowy  tents  the  28th  of  Au 
gust.  It  was  a  u  big  thing,"  therefore,  to  win  one 
of  the  colors  at  guard-mounting. 

Twenty-one  cadet  privates  marched  on  every 
day,  eighteen  to  man  the  ordinary  posts  and  three 
the  color -line,  these  three  being  selected  by  the 
adjutant  from  those  whose  rifle,  equipment,  uni 
form,  etc.,  were  in  the  handsomest  condition. 
Keen  was  the  rivalry,  and  simply  immaculate  at 
times  the  appearance  of  the  contestants.  The 


adjutant  would  not  infrequently  force  a  dainty 
white  handkerchief  into  all  manner  of  crevices 
about  the  rifle,  or  corners  of  the  cartridge-box, 
wherever  dust  or  rust  might  collect,  and  a  speck 
would  ruin  a  fellow's  chances. 

On  this  particular  morning,  however,  Mr. 
Glenn,  the  adjutant,  was  not  thoroughly  satis 
fied  with  his  color-men.  He  found  some  fault 
with  two  of  those  whose  rifles  were  tossed  up, 
and  there  were  only  four  all  told.  And  so  it 
happened  he  had  made  the  circuit  of  the  front 
rank  without  finding  a  satisfactory  third  man, 
nor  had  he  better  success  on  the  right  of  the 
rear  rank.  Coming  to  Graham,  and  looking  him 
keenly  over  from  the  tip  of  his  pompon  down 
to  the  toe  of  his  shoes,  the  adjutant's  soldierly 
face  lighted  up  with  interest. 

"  What  is  your  name,  sir  ?"  he  asked. 

"  Graham." 

"Toss  up  your  rifle." 

Geordie  obeyed,  conscious  that  his  knees  and 
lips  were  trembling  a  little.  Glenn  took  the 
beautifully-polished  weapon,  the  interest  on  his 
face  deepening. 

"  Did  you  clean  this  gun  yourself,  sir  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"If  this  were  not  your  first  tour  of  guard 
duty,  Mr.  Graham,  and  you  had  not  to  learn  sen 
try  duty,  I  would  put  you  on  colors."  And  all 


100 


the  rear  rank  and  file  closers  and  most  of  the 
front  rank  heard  him  say  it. 

Now  while  a  plebe  must  be  berated  for  every 
blunder  he  makes,  and  is  perpetually  being  or 
dered  to  do  better  next  time,  the  idea  of  his 
doing  so  well  the  first  time  as  to  excel  the  per 
formance  of  even  the  "  lowest  -  down  yearling  " 
is  still  more  unforgivable  in  old  cadet  eyes.  It 
was  not  until  dinner-time,  however,  that  Mr. 
Glenn's  commendation  of  Corporal  Pops  be 
gan  to  be  noised  abroad.  The  adjutant,  in  his 
dissatisfaction  with  the  yearling  candidates  for 
colors,  had  virtually  instituted  comparison  be 
tween  them  and  a  plebe  marching  on  for  the 
very  first  time,  and  comparisons  of  that  nature 
were  indeed  odious.  And  so  it  resulted  that 
through  no  soldierly  fault,  but  rather  from  too 
much  soldierly  appreciation  of  his  duties,  Geor- 
die  Graham  had  fallen  under  the  ban  of  year 
ling  censure,  and  was  marked  for  vengeance. 

This  is  not  a  pleasant  thing  for  an  old  cadet — a 
very  old  cadet — to  write.  There  were  plenty  of 
Third  Class  men  who,  had  they  heard  the  adju 
tant's  remarks  as  made,  and  the  conversation 
between  Mr.  Woods  and  Graham  as  it  occurred, 
would  have  taken  no  exceptions ;  but  such  affairs 
are  invariably  colored  in  the  telling,  and  gain  in 
exaggeration  with  every  repetition.  There  was 
no  one  to  tell  Geordie's  side  of  the  story.  There 


101 


were  few  yearlings  who  cared  to  question,  the 
adjutant  as  to  the  exact  naturo  or  his  remarks. 
Without  any  formal  action  at  all,  but  as  the  re 
sult  of  their  own  experience  the  year  before  and 
the  loose  discussion  held  in  group  after  group, 
by  a  sort  of  common  consent  it  was  settled  that 
that  plebe  must  be  "  taken  down."  Not  only 
must  he  be  called  upon  to  apologize  to  Mr. 
Woods  on  marching  off  guard  on  the  morrow, 
or  else  give  full  satisfaction,  cadet  fashion,  in 
fair  fight  with  nature's  own  weapons,  but  he 
must  be  taught  at  once  that  he  had  too  big 
an  idea  of  his  importance  as  a  sentry.  That 
might  be  all  very  well  a  year  hence,  but  not 
now. 

At  the  risk  of  court-martial  and  dismissal,  if 
discovered,  two  members  of  the  Third  Class  who 
had  just  scraped  through  the  June  examination, 
and  by  reason  of  profusion  of  demerit  and  pau 
city  of  brains  were  reasonably  certain  of  being 
discharged  the  service  by  January  next,  "  shook 
hands  on  it "  with  one  or  two  cadets  more  daring — 
because  they  had  more  to  lose — that  they  would 
dump  Mr.  Graham  in  Fort  Clinton  ditch  that 
very  night ;  and  as  Fort  Clinton  ditch  lay  right 
along  the  post  of  Number  Three  for  a  distance 
of  some  sixty  yards,  that  would  probably  be  no 
difficult  thing  to  do.  "  Only  it's  got  to  be  a  sur 
prise.  That  young  Indian  fighter  will  use  either 


102 


butt*  or  ba-yonet,  6r^  both,"  was  the  caution  ad- 
inrinisteTed  by  an  older  head. 

"Keep  your  eye  peeled,  Graham,"  whispered 
Connell  to  him  just  after  supper.  "  Some  of  those 
yearlings  are  going  to  try  and  get  square  with 
you  to-night." 

Pops  nodded,  but  said  nothing.  He  had  no 
ticed  that  during  supper  neither  Mr.  "Woods  nor 
any  of  the  Third  Class  men  at  the  table  looked 
at  or  exchanged  a  word  with  him.  Frazier,  all 
excitement,  had  overheard  Cadet  Jennings,  one 
of  the  famous  boxers  of  the  corps,  inquire  which 
was  "  that  plebe  Graham,"  and  had  seen  him 
speak  in  a  low  tone  to  Geordie. 

u  I  have  a  message  for  you  from  Mr.  Woods, 
Mr.  Graham,"  was  all  that  Jennings  had  said, 
"  and  will  see  you  after  you  march  off  guard." 

Pops  well  knew  what  that  meant.  From  many 
a  graduate,  and  especially  from  Mr.  McCrea,  he 
had  heard  full  account  of  the  West  Point  meth 
od  of  settling  such  matters.  It  differed  very  lit 
tle  from  that  described  by  that  manliest  of 
Christians,  Mr.  Thomas  Hughes,  in  his  incom 
parable  boy -story,  Tom  Brown's  School -Days 
at  Rugby^  and  Pops  had  never  a  doubt  as  to 
what  his  course  would  have  to  be.  It  was  one 
point  he  could  not  and  would  not  discuss  with 
his  mother,  and  one  which  his  father  never  men 
tioned.  Pops  had  said  just  what  he  meant  to  Mr. 


103 


Woods,  and  he  meant  to  stand  by  what  he  had 
said. 

But  meantime  other  yearlings  proposed  to 
make  it  lively  for  him  on  post  that  night,  did 
they  ?  Well,  Geordie  clinched  his  teeth,  and  set 
his  square,  sunburned  jaws,  and  gripped  his  rifle 
firmly  as  the  relief  went  tramping  away  down 
the  long  vista  under  the  trees.  The  full  moon 
was  high  in  the  heavens,  and  camp  was  well- 
nigh  as  light  as  day.  A  nice  time  they  would 
have  stealing  upon  him  unawares,  said  he  to 
himself;  but  his  heart  kept  thumping  hard.  It 
was  very  late  —  long  after  one.  Only  at  the 
guard-tents  was  there  a  lamp  or  candle  burning. 
It  was  very  still.  Only  the  long,  regular  breath 
ing  of  some  sleepers  close  at  hand  in  the  tents 
of  Company  A,  the  distant  rumble  of  freight 
trains  winding  through  the  Highlands,  or  the 
soft  churning  of  the  waters  by  some  powerful 
tow-boat,  south  bound  with  its  fleet  of  barges, 
broke  upon  the  night. 

Mr.  Allen,  officer  in  charge,  had  visited  the 
guard  just  before  their  relief  was  on,  and,  going 
back  to  his  tent,  had  extinguished  his  lamp,  and 
presumably  turned  in.  It  was  very  warm,  and 
many  of  the  corps  had  raised  their  tent  walls ; 
so,  too,  had  Lieutenant  Webster,  the  army  officer 
commanding  Company  A,  and  Pops  could  see  the 
lieutenant  himself  lying  on  his  camp-cot  sleep 


104 


ing  the  sleep  of  the  just.  His  post  —  Number 
Three  —  extended  from  the  north  end  of  the 
color -line,  on  which  Numbers  Two  and  Six 
were  now  pacing,  closed  in  around  camp  for 
the  night,  down  along  the  north  side,  skirting 
the  long  row  of  tents  of  Company  A  ;  then,  with 
the  black,  deep  ditch  of  Fort  Clinton  on  the  left 
hand,  the  gravelled  pathway  ran  straight  east 
ward  under  the  great  spreading  trees,  past  the 
wall  tent  of  the  cadet  first  captain  ;  beyond  that 
the  double  tent  of  the  adjutant ;  then  near  at 
hand  was  the  water-tank ;  and  farther  east,  close 
to  the  path,  the  three  tents  of  the  bootblacks  and 
varnishers. 

The  four  big  double  tents  occupied  by  the  four 
army  officers  commanding  cadet  companies  were 
aligned  opposite  their  company  streets,  and  some 
twenty  yards  away  from  them.  The  big  "  mar 
quee  "  of  the  commandant  stood  still  farther  back, 
close  to  the  shaded  post  of  Number  Four — and  all 
so  white  and  still  and  ghostly.  The  corporal  of 
the  relief  came  round  in  ten  minutes  to  test  the 
sentries'  knowledge  of  the  night  orders.  Pops 
challenged  sharply  :  "  Who  comes  there  ?"  and 
went  through  his  military  catechism  with  no 
serious  error.  Half  an  hour  later  the  clink  of 
sword  was  heard,  and  the  cadet  officer  of  the 
guard  made  the  rounds,  and  still  there  came 
no  sign  of  trouble.  Twice  had  the  call  of  the 


WHO   COMES    THERE  ?' 


105 


half-hour  passed  around  camp.  "  Half-past  two 
o'clock,  and  a-l-l's  well,"  went  echoing  away 
among  the  moonlit  mountains,  and  still  no  sight 
or  sound  of  coming  foe. 

"  They  won't  dare,  it's  so  bright  a  night,"  said 
Pops  to  himself.  "  Only  an  Apache  could  creep 
up  on  me  here.  They  have  to  come  from  the  side 
of  camp  if  they  come  at  all.  They  can't  get  out 
across  any  sentry  post." 

Pacing  slowly  eastward,  his  rifle  on  his  shoul 
der,  turning  vigilantly  behind  him  every  moment 
or  two,  he  had  reached  the  tank  where  the  over 
hanging  shade  was  heaviest  and  the  darkness  thick. 
Opposite  the  shoeblack's  tent  he  turned  about 
and  started  westward  again,  where  all  at  the 
upper  end  of  his  post  lay  bright  and  clear.  He 
could  see  the  white  trousers  and  belts  of  Number 
Two  glinting  in  the  moonlight  as  he  sauntered 
along  the  northern  end  of  his  post.  Then  of  a 
sudden  everything  was  dark,  his  rifle  pitched  for 
ward  into  space ;  something  hot,  soft,  stifling  en 
veloped  his  head  and  arms,  and  wound  round  and 
round  about  him — all  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 
Cry  out  he  could  not.  Brawny  arms  embraced 
him  in  a  bear-hug.  Sightless,  he  was  rushed  for 
ward,  tripped  up,  and  the  next  instant  half  slid, 
half  rolled,  into  the  dewy,  grassy  depths  of  Clin 
ton  ditch.  Unhurt,  yet  raging,  when  at  last,  un 
rolling  himself  from  the  folds  of  a  drum-boy's 


106 


blanket,  and  shouting  for  the  corporal  of  the 
guard,  he  clambered  back  to  his  post.  Then  not 
a  trace  could  be  seen  of  his  assailants,  not  a  sign 
of  his  beautiful  gun. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THEEE  was  excitement  in  camp  next  morn 
ing.  Beyond  rapid-running  foot-falls  and  certain 
sounds  of  smothered  laughter  among  the  tents, 
nothing  had  been  heard  by  any  sentry,  plebe  or 
yearling,  of  the  assailants  of  Number  Three,  yet 
they  must  have  been  three  or  four  in  number. 
Geordie  was  sure  of  that;  sure  also  that  they 
must  have  concealed  themselves  in  the  shoe 
black's  tent  or  behind  the  trees  at  the  east  end 
of  his  post.  Once  clear  of  his  muffling,  his  loud 
yell  for  the  corporal  of  the  guard  had  brought 
that  young  soldier  down  from  the  guard -tents 
full  tilt.  (It  transpired  long  afterwards  that  he 
was  expecting  the  summons.)  It  also  brought 
Lieutenant  Webster  out  of  bed  and  into  his  trou 
sers  in  one  jump.  "  Deviling  sentries  "  was  some 
thing  that  had  not  been  dared  the  previous  sum 
mer,  and  was  hardly  expected  now.  The  officer 
of  the  guard,  too,  thought  it  expedient  to  hurry 
to  the  scene,  and  those  two  cadet  officials  were 
upbraiding  Mr.  Graham  for  the  loss  of  his  equip 
ment  and  equilibrium  when  Mr.  Webster  inter 
posed. 


108 


Cadet  Fulton,  of  the  Third  Class,  was  on  the 
neighboring  post,  Number  Four,  and  declared 
that  he  had  seen  neither  cadets  nor  anybody  else 
approaching  Mr.  Graham's  post,  nor  had  a  sound 
of  the  scuffle  reached  him.  He  must  have  been 
at  the  south  end  of  his  post  at  the  time  (as  in 
deed  he  was,  as  it  also  turned  out  long  after), 
otherwise  he  could  have  seen  the  marauders  had 
he  so  desired.  Mr.  Webster  got  his  bull's-eye 
lantern  and  made  an  immediate  inspection  of 
camp,  finding  every  old  cadet  in  his  appropriate 
place,  and  unusually  sound  asleep.  Meantime  it 
was  discovered  that  Mr.  Graham's  shoulder-belt 
had  been  sliced  in  two,  and  that  his  cartridge-box 
and  bayonet-scabbard  were  also  gone.  The  gun 
and  equipments,  therefore,  on  which  he  had  be 
stowed  so  much  care  and  labor,  and  the  adjutant 
such  commendation,  were  partially  the  objects 
of  assault.  The  officer  of  the  guard  sent  for  a 
lantern,  and  bade  Geordie  search  along  the  ditch 
for  them.  So  down  again,  ankle  deep  in  the 
long  dew-sodden  grass,  did  our  young  plainsman 
go,  painfully  searching,  but  to  no  effect.  Lieu 
tenant  Allen,  officer  in  charge,  who  had  in  the 
meantime  dressed  and  girt  himself  with  sword- 
belt,  came  presently  to  the  scene  and  ordered 
him  up  again. 

"  One  might  as  well  search  for  a  needle  in  a 
hay-stack,  as  you  probably  knew  when  you  sent 


109 


him  there,  Mr.  Bland,"  said  he,  not  over-placidly. 
He  was  angry  to  think  of  such  daring  defiance  of 
law  and  order  occurring  almost  under  his  very 
nose.  "  Go  to  the  first  sergeant  of  Company  B 
and  tell  him  to  credit  Mr.  Graham  with  a  full 
tour  of  guard  duty,  and  order  the  supernumerary 
to  report  at  once  at  the  guard-house.  Mr.  Jay  " 
—this  to  the  corporal  of  the  guard — "you  re 
main  here  in  charge  of  this  post  until  relieved. 
Now  go  to  your  tent,  Mr.  Graham,  and  get  to 
bed.  You've  done  very  well,  sir.  This  matter 
will  be  investigated  in  the  morning." 

But  Pops  was  mad,  as  he  afterwards  expressed 
it,  "  clean  through."  "  I'll  go  if  you  order  me  to, 
sir,  but  I'd  rather  borrow  a  gun  and  serve  my 
tour  out,  and  let  them  try  it  again."  And  Mr. 
Allen,  after  a  moment's  reflection,  said :  "  Yery 
well ;  do  so  if  you  choose." 

Whereupon  Geordie  went  to  his  tent,  finding 
Benny  awake  and  eager  for  particulars.  Tak 
ing  Foster's  gun  and  "  trimmings,"  as  they  used 
to  call  cadet  equipments  in  the  old  days,  he  hur 
ried  back.  Mr.  Allen  was  still  there. 

"  Did  you  recognize  no  one — did  you  hear  no 
voice — see  nothing  by  which  you  could  identify 
any  one  ?"  he  asked. 

"  No,  sir ;  it  was  all  done  quick  as  a  flash.  I 
didn't  hear  a  thing." 

"Have    you    had    any   difficulty   with  any- 


110 


body?  Had  you  any  inkling  that  this  was  to 
happen  ?" 

Graham  hesitated.  He  knew  the  cadet  rule : 
"  The  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth."  Indeed, 
he  had  never  known  any  other.  He  knew  also 
that  were  he  to  mention  Mr.  Woods's  name  in 
this  connection,  it  meant  court-martial,  in  all 
probability,  for  Woods.  What  he  did  not  know 
was  that  that  young  gentleman  was  perfectly 
well  aware  of  the  fact,  and  for  two  reasons  had 
had  nothing  whatsoever  to  do  with  the  attack : 
one  was  that  in  the  event  of  investigation  he 
would  be  the  first  suspected;  the  other  that, 
having  taken  exceptions  to  Mr.  Graham's  re 
tort  to  the  extent  of  demanding  "  satisfaction," 
he  was  now  debarred  by  cadet  etiquette  from 
molesting  him— except  in  one  way. 

"  I'm  waiting  for  your  answer,  Mr.  Graham," 
said  the  lieutenant. 

"  Well,  sir,  I  suppose  every  new  cadet  has 
difficulty  with  the  old  ones.  This  was  nothing 
that  I  care  to  speak  about." 

"  With  whom  had  you  any  trouble,  sir?  Who 
threatened  you  in  any  way  ?" 

Geordie  hesitated,  then  respectfully  but  firmly 
said: 

"  I  decline  to  say." 

"You  may  have  to  say,  Mr.  Graham,  should 
a  court  of  inquiry  be  ordered." 


Ill 


But  Pops  knew  enough  of  army  life  to  un 
derstand  that  courts  of  inquiry  were  rare  and 
extraordinary  means  of  investigation.  He  stood 
respectfully  before  his  inquisitor,  but  stood  in 
silence,  as,  indeed,  Mr.  Allen  rather  expected  he 
would  do. 

"  Yery  well.  You  can  post  Mr.  Graham  again," 
said  he,  finally ;  "  and  you  will  be  held  respon 
sible,  Mr.  Officer  of  the  Guard,  in  the  event  of 
further  annoyance  to  him  to-night." 

But.  there  was  none.  At  half -past  three  the 
relief  came  around,  and  Geordie  turned  over  his 
post  to  Connell.  There  was  some  chuckling  and 
laughter  and  covert  glances  on  the  part  of  old 
cadets  when  they  went  to  breakfast,  and  Benny 
Frazier  was  full  of  eager  inquiry  as  to  what  had 
become  of  his  rifle  and  equipments.  But  Geordie 
was  still  very  sore  over  his  discomfiture,  and 
would  say  nothing  at  all.  No  sooner  had  the 
detail  broken  ranks,  after  being  marched  into 
Company  B's  street  on  the  dismissal  of  the 
old  guard,  than  the  drum-boy  orderly  appeared 
and  told  Geordie  the  commandant  wished  to  see 
him. 

The  Colonel  was  seated  in  his  big  tent,  and  the 
new  officer  of  the  day,  Cadet  Captain  Vincent, 
of  C  Company,  was  standing  attention  before 
him. 

"  There  must  be  no  repetition  of  last  night's 


112 


performance  on  your  guard,  sir,"  Pops  heard  him 
say,  as  he  stood  on  the  gravel  path  outside  await 
ing  his  turn,  and  wondering  why  Mr.  Bend,  the 
acting  first  sergeant  of  his  company,  should  be 
there  too.  Any  one  who  happened  to  be  on  the 
lookout  at  this  moment  could  not  fail  to  see 
that  a  number  of  cadets  had  gathered  at  the 
east  end  of  each  company  street,  and,  though 
busied  apparently  in  animated  chat  with  one  an 
other,  they  were  keeping  at  the  same  time  a 
close  watch  on  the  commandant's  tent.  Mr.  Yin- 
cent  saluted,  faced  about,  and  gravely  marched 
away,  holding  his  plumed  head  very  high,  and 
looking  straight  before  him.  It  wouldn't  do  to 
grin  until  he  had  passed  the  line  of  tactical 
tents  (as  the  four  domiciles  of  the  company 
commandants  were  sometimes  called).  Yet  he 
felt  like  grinning.  ISTo  one  man  could  suppress 
the  impulse  of  mischief  rampant  in  the  year 
ling  class,  and  Yincent  knew  it.  And  then  Pops 
was  summoned.  The  colonel  looked  him  keenly 
over. 

"  You  are  sure  you  recognized  none  of  your 
assailants  last  night?" 

"  Perfectly  sure,  sir.     I  had  no  opportunity." 

"Have  you  heard  anything  as  yet  of  your 
rifle  and  equipments?" 

"  No,  sir ;  nothing  at  all." 

"Mr.   Bend,"   said    the   colonel,  "issue    Mr. 


113 


Graham  a  brand-new  rifle — one  that  has  never 
been  used;  also  new  equipments.  His  were 
taken  because  they  were  the  best  cleaned  in  the 
class.  We'll  save  him  as  much  trouble  as  possi 
ble  in  the  future — until  those  are  found." 

And  so,  instead  of  the  "  veteran  outfit "  that 
would  doubtless  have  been  issued  to  replace 
those  lost,  Geordie  found  himself  in  possession  of 
a  handsome  new  cadet  rifle,  bayonet,  cartridge- 
box,  and  bayonet  -  scabbard.  Mr.  Bend,  as  in 
structed,  carefully  registered  the  arsenal  number 
on  his  note-book.  The  first  and  second  classes, 
breaking  ranks  after  their  morning  duties,  came 
thronging  back  to  their  company  street  to  get 
ready  for  dinner.  The  yearlings  promptly  clus 
tered  around  Bend. 

"  The  colonel  tried  to  get  him  to  tell,"  said  he, 
in  answer  to  eager  questions,  "but  he  wouldn't. 
You're  safe  enough,  Woods,  if  you  don't  push 
matters  any  further." 

"  But  I've  got  to,"  said  Woods,  in  a  low  tone. 
"Jennings  has  seen  him  already,  and  Eoss  says 
it's  got  to  be  one  thing  or  the  other." 

Mr.  Ross,  the  authority  thus  quoted,  was  the 
cadet  first  lieutenant  of  Company  B.  There  are 
generally  certain  magnates  of  the  senior  class 
to  whom  mooted  questions  are  referred,  just  as 
in  foreign  services  the  differences  among  officers 
are  examined  by  the  regimental  court  of  honor, 


114 


and  it  may  be  said  of  Mr.  Ross  right  here  that 
he  never  refused  his  services  as  referee,  and  rare 
ly  prescribed  any  course  but  battle.  There 
were  still  some  fifteen  minutes  before  the  dinner 
drums  would  beat;  and  when  Mr.  Jennings  came 
over  from  Company  A  and  took  Woods  aside, 
the  eyes  of  the  entire  street  were  on  them.  A 
prospective  fight  is  a  matter  of  absorbing  inter 
est  from  highest  to  lowest. 

"  One  moment,  Jennings,"  said  Bend,  joining 
the  two ;  "  before  you  go  any  further  in  this  mat 
ter,  I  want  you  to  know  that  when  many  a  plebe 
might  have  been  excused  for  giving  the  whole 
thing  dead  away  to  the  commandant  this  morn 
ing,  Mr.  Graham  stood  up  like  a  man  and  wouldn't 
tell." 

"  Of  course  he  wouldn't !"  answered  Jennings, 
shortly.  "  Mr.  Graham's  a  gentleman.  All  the 
more  reason  why  "Woods  can't  swallow  his  lan 
guage." 

"  Well,  see  here ;  I  think  Woods  brought  the 
whole  thing  on  himself,"  said  Bend,  sturdily. 
"  This  is  no  personal  row,  and  that  young  fellow 
has  been  taught  all  his  life  that  a  sentinel  is  en 
titled  to  respect,  in  the  first  place,  and  is  expected 
to  do  his  whole  duty,  in  the  second.  I'm  not 
'going  back  on  a  class -mate,'  as  you  seem  to 
think,  but  I  want  you,  and  I  want  Woods  here, 
to  put  yourselves  in  that  plebe's  place  a  mo- 


115 


merit,  and  say  whether  you'd  have  answered 
differently." 

"We  can't  back  out  now,"  answered  Woods, 
gruffly.  "  The  whole  corps  knows  just  what  he 
said,  and  it  will  be  totally  misjudged  if  we  don't 
demand  apology.  He's  got  to  apologize,"  he 
went  on,  hotly,  "  or  else  fight ;  and  it's  not  your 
place  to  be  interfering,  Bend,  and  you  know  it." 

"  I  wouldn't  interfere  if  it  were  a  simple  mat 
ter  of  a  personal  row  between  the  two ;  but  this 
is  a  matter  in  which — and  I  say  it  plainly,  Jen 
nings — this  young  fellow  is  being  set  upon  simply 
because  he's  been  raised  as  a  soldier,  and  knows 
more  what's  expected  of  a  soldier  than  any  man 
in  his  class,  and — by  Jupiter !  since  you  will  have 
it  —  than  a  good  many  of  ours,  you  and  Woods 
in  particular."  And  now  the  cadet  corporal's 
eyes  were  flashing.  "  What's  more,  Jennings,  I 
believe  Woods's  better  judgment  would  prompt 
him  to  see  this  thing  as  I  do,  but  that  you're 
forcing  a  fight." 

By  this  time  ears  as  well  as  eyes  of  half  of  B 
Company  —  First  Class,  yearlings,  and  plebes— 
were  intent.  Bend,  indignant  and  full  of  vim, 
had  raised  his  voice  so  that  his  words  were  plain 
ly  heard  by  a  dozen  at  least.  Fearful  of  a  fracas 
on  the  spot,  Cadet  Lieutenant  Ross  sprang  for 
ward. 

"Not  another  word,  Bend!     Be  quiet,  Jen- 


116 


nings !  You  two  can  settle  this  later.  I'm  wit 
ness  to  what  has  been  said ;  so  are  a  dozen  more. 
Go  about  your  other  affair,  Jennings." 

Jennings  was  boiling  over  with  wrath.  In 
cadet  circles  almost  as  much  opprobrium  is  at 
tached  to  the  bully  who  is  over -anxious  to  fight 
as  to  the  shirk  who  won't  fight  at  all — not  quite 
so  much,  perhaps — but  Jennings  turned  away. 

"You'll  hear  from  me  later  on  this  score, 
Bend,"  he  growled.  "  I'm  at  Woods's  service 
for  the  moment,  and  I  decline  any  officious  med 
dling  on  your  part."  With  that  he  strode  up 
the  company  street,  his  face  hot  and  frowning. 

Geordie  was  pinning  a  collar  on  his  plebe  jacket 
at  the  moment,  and  had  resumed  the  gray  dress 
of  his  class-mates  in  order  to  march  with  them  to 
dinner.  So  had  Connell.  Foster  and  Frazier,  all 
excitement,  had  been  watching  the  scene  down 
in  front  of  the  first  sergeant's  tent. 

"  Here  comes  Mr.  Jennings,  Graham,"  said 
Benny,  excitedly,  and  the  next  instant  the  burly 
figure  of  the  A  Company  corporal — Woods's 
friend — appeared  at  the  tent  door.  It  wasn't  the 
first  time  he  had  been  accused  of  a  bullying  tone 
in  conveying  such  a  message.  A  First  Class  man, 
splashing  his  close-cropped  head  and  sun-browned 
face  in  front  of  the  next  tent,  emerged  from  be 
hind  his  towel,  and,  still  dripping,  came  forward 
as  Jennings  began  to  speak. 


117 


"  Mr.  Graham,  my  friend  Mr.  Woods  consid 
ers  himself  insulted  by  your  language  at  the  din 
ner-table  yesterday,  and  he  demands  an  apology." 

Geordie's  face  was  a  little  white,  but  the  blue 
eyes  didn't  flinch  a  particle. 

"  I've  none  to  make,"  was  the  brief  answer. 

"  Then  I  suppose  you  will  refer  me  to  some 
friend  at  once.  You  know  the  consequences,  I 
presume,"  said  Jennings,  magnificently. 

"  Just  as  soon  as  I  can  find  some  one,"  an 
swered  Geordie.  "  I'll  look  around  after  dinner." 

"  Well,  you  want  to  step  out  about  it,"  was 
the  curt  reply.  "  There's  been  too  much  shilly 
shally  about  this  matter  already." 

"  That's  no  fault  of  mine !"  answered  Pops, 
firing  up  at  the  instant.  "  Connell,  you'll  stand 
by  me,  won't  you  ?  Mr.  Jennings,  you  can  have 
all  the  satisfaction  you  want ;  and,  what's  more, 
just  you  say  that  if  I  can  find  out  who  stole  my 
gun  last  night  there'll  be  no  time  fooled  away 
asking  for  any  apologies." 

"  Bully !"  gasped  Benny,  with  eager  delight ; 
and  Foster  smote  his  thigh  with  ecstasy. 

"  All  right,  my  young  fighting-cock !"  sneered 
Jennings.  "  We'll  accommodate  you — and  begin 
to-night  during  supper.  See  that  you  and  Mr. 
Connell  here  are  ready.'' 

"  Oh,  one  moment,  Mr.  Jennings,"  interposed 
the  First  Class  neighbor.  "  Mr.  Graham  is  pos- 


118 


sibly  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  as  a  challenged 
party  it's  his  right  and  not  yours  to  name  the 
time.  Fair  play,  if  you  please,  now ;  fair  play." 

"Oh,  he'll  get  fair  play  enough,"  said  Jen 
nings,  impatiently. 

But  here  the  clamor  of  fife  and  drum,  thun 
dering  away  at  "  The  Eoast  Beef  of  Old  Eng 
land,"  put  an  end  to  the  preliminaries.  All 
through  dinner  nothing  was  talked  of  at  the  ta 
ble  of  Company  B  but  the  coming  mill  between 
Woods  and  Graham,  the  first  of  the  inevitable 
series  of  fisticuffs  between  yearling  and  plebe. 
Of  course,  too,  by  this  time  Graham's  virtual 
challenge  to  his  assailants  to  come  out  and  own 
up  was  being  passed  from  lip  to  lip.  Of  course, 
it  was  always  the  understood  thing  that  if  a 
plebe  objected  to  his  treatment  and  demanded 
satisfaction,  the  offender  must  fight.  Only,  by 
the  unwritten  code  of  the  corps,  there  were  cer 
tain  things  which  it  was  held  a  plebe  should  take 
as  a  matter  of  course,  and  not  look  upon  in  the 
light  of  personal  affront ;  and  being  hazed  on  post 
was  one  of  them.  Mr.  Otis,  their  next-door  neigh 
bor,  took  the  trouble  to  explain  this  to  Pops  later 
in  the  afternoon,  and  Geordie  listened  respect 
fully,  but  without  being  moved.  He  had  been 
taught  all  his  life  just  the  reverse,  he  said.  A 
sentry  was  a  sentry  all  the  world  over,  and 
whether  Life  -  guardsman  in  London,  soldier  in 


119 


the  Sioux  country,  or  plebe  at  the  Point,  it 
didn't  make  a  particle  of  difference  to  him.  "  I 
may  be  wrong,  Mr.  Otis,  but  it's  all  the  fault  of 
my  bringing  up." 

"Confound  the  pig-headed  young  sawney !"  said 
Otis,  afterwards.  "  He's  as  obstinate  as  a  mule, 
and,  what  makes  it  worse,  he's  perfectly  right ; 
only  the  yearlings  can't  see  it,  and  he'll  have  no 
end  of  fight  and  trouble,  especially  if  he  licks 
Woods  to-night." 

Now  here  was  a  question.  Woods  had  all  the 
advantage  of  the  year's  splendid  gymnastic  train 
ing,  under  as  fine  a  master  as  the  nation  could 
provide.  Every  muscle  and  sinew  was  evenly 
and  carefully  developed.  He  was  lithe,  quick, 
active,  skilled  with  foil,  bayonet,  and  broad 
sword,  and  fairly  well  taught  with  the  gloves. 
He  had  borne  himself  well  in  the  two  or  three 
"  scrimmages  "  of  his  plebe  year,  and  the  Third 
Class  were  wellnigh  unanimous  in  their  predic 
tion  that  he'd  "make  a  chopping-block  of  that 
plebe."  Geordie  was  bulkier  than  his  foeman,  a 
splendid  specimen  of  lusty  health,  strength,  and 
endurance ;  but  he  lacked  as  yet  the  special  train 
ing  and  systematic  development  of  the  yearling. 

"  Take  'em  a  year  from  now,"  said  Mr.  Eoss, 
"  and  there's  no  question  but  that  Woods  '11  be 
outclassed ;  but  to-day  it  makes  one  think  of  Fitz- 
James  and  Eoderick  Dhu." 


120 


And  so  the  afternoon  wore  away,  and  the  ex 
citement  increased.  Jennings  was  in  his  glory. 

"  It  '11  be  a  beauty,"  was  the  way  he  expressed 
himself.  "That  plebe's  a  plucky  one.  I  may 
have  to  give  him  a  lesson  myself  yet."  And  he 
bared  his  magnificent  arm,  and  complacently  re 
garded  the  bulging  biceps. 

"  If  it's  two  years  from  now  when  he  tries  it 
on,"  remarked  Mr.  Otis,  when  Jennings's  remarks 
were  repeated  to  him,  "  may  I  be  there  to  see ! 
It's  my  belief  Mr.  Jennings  will  get  a  lesson  he 
richly  deserves." 

Despite  every  effort  to  keep  the  details  secret, 
nine-tenths  of  the  corps  knew  that  the  fight  was 
to  come  off  in  Fort  Clinton  during  supper-time, 
and  such  was  the  eagerness  to  see  the  affair  that, 
despite  the  urgings  of  Mr.  Koss,  the  referee,  and 
Mr.  Jennings,  no  less  than  thirty  or  forty  old  cadets 
fell  out  after  parade,  as  they  were  then  allowed 
to  do  in  case  they  did  not  care  to  go  to  the  mess- 
hall.  It  was  a  hot  night,  too,  and  so  short  was  the 
time  between  evening-gun  fire  and  the  opening 
waltz  that  many  of  the  corps  were  in  the  habit 
of  "  cutting  supper."  The  thinned  ranks  of  the 
battalion,  therefore,  conveyed  no  meaning  to  the 
officer  in  charge.  Jauntily  the  gray  and  white 
column  went  striding  away  across  the  Plain, 
drums  and  fifes  playing  merrily.  Pops  never 
hears  the  jolly  notes  of  "  Kingdom  Coming  "  now 


121 


without  feeling  again  the  throbbing  of  his  heart 
as  he  quickly  doffed  his  gray  trousers  and  donned 
a  pair  of  white,  so  as  to  be  in  uniform  with  the 
older  cadets,  Connell  doing  the  same.  Benny 
and  Foster,  though  mad  with  excitement,  had 
been  ordered  to  go  to  supper.  The  absence  of 
so  many  from  one  table  would  have  aroused  sus 
picion.  ,One  or  two  plebes  in  C  and  D  Com 
panies  determined  to  be  on  hand  to  see  Graham 
through,  though  rare  indeed  are  there  cases  of 
unfair  play.  They  had  borrowed  old  dress-coats 
and  white  trousers.  Mr.  Eoss  had  duly  seen  to  it 
that  at  a  certain  moment  the  sentries  on  Three 
and  Four  should  be  at  the  distant  end  of  their 
respective  posts  and  facing  away  from  Fort  Clin 
ton,  and  as  the  battalion  disappeared  down  the 
leafy  avenue  by  the  "  Old  Academic,"  Mr.  Otis 
came  to  Graham's  tent. 

"  Now's  your  time,  lad,  and  I've  only  one  piece 
of  advice — clinch  and  throw  him  as  quick  as  you 
can." 

Two  minutes  later,  all  on  a  sudden,  some  thirty 
or  forty  nimble  young  fellows  appeared  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  camp,  darted  across  the 
north  end  of  Number  Four's  post  while  that  sen 
try  was  absorbed  fifty  yards  away  in  a  'bus-load 
of  ladies  going  back  to  Cranston's  after  parade, 
and  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  write  it  they 
were  over  the  grass-grown  ramparts  of  the  old 


fort,  and  grouped  about  the  shaded  nook  near 
the  Kosciusko  monument,  the  scene  of  hundreds 
of  storied  battles.  Only  two  styles  of  combat 
were  recognized  at  the  Point  in  Geordie's  day — 
only  honest  fighting  could  be  tolerated  at  any 
time,  but  it  was  the  right  of  the  challenged  ca 
det  to  say  whether  it  should  be  fought  to  a  finish 
from  the  word,  without  time  or  rounds  of  any 
kind,  taking  no  account  of  falls  or  throws  —  the 
old-fashioned  "rough-and-tumble,"  in  fact  —  or 
else  by  the  later  method  of  the  Marquis  of 
Queensbury  rules.  The  slow  and  cumbrous  sys 
tem  of  the  old  London  prize-ring  had  long  since 
been  abandoned. 

Acting  on  Mr.  Otis's  advice,  Connell  had  de 
cided  on  the  first -named,  as  giving  less  chance 
for  Woods's  science  and  more  for  Geordie's 
strength.  And  now,  while  in  silence  the  eager 
spectators  ranged  themselves  about  the  spot,  the 
two  young  fellows  threw  aside  coats  and  caps, 
and  with  bared  chests  and  arms  stepped  forward 
into  the  open  space  among  the  trees,  where  stood 
Mr.  Eoss  awaiting  them.  Each  was  attended  by 
his  second.  Jennings  eyed  Geordie,  and  in  a 
gruff,  semi-professional  style,  ordered:  "Show 
your  foot  there !  No  spikes  allowed."  Graham 
flushed,  but  held  up,  one  after  the  other,  the 
soles  of  his  shoes  to  show  that  they  were  smooth. 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  your  man  has  no  business 


123 


wearing  tennis-shoes,"  said  Connell.  "Kubber 
soles  give  him  an  advantage  on  this  turf.  I  pro 
test  !" 

Ross  shook  his  head,  but  suddenly  another 
voice  was  heard,  and  a  new  figure  joined  the 
group.  A  light  shot  into  Graham's  face.  He 
recognized  Mr.  Glenn,  the  cadet  adjutant  who 
had  so  commended  him  at  guard-mounting. 

"  Of  course  it's  unfair,  Ross.  What's  more,  the 
plebe's  shoes  are  new  and  stiff,  and  the  soles  are 
slippery.  This  thing  can't  go  on  until  that's  set 
tled." 

Mr.  Ross  frowned.  Time  was  precious,  but 
down  in  his  heart  he  knew  the  adjutant  was 
right.  More  than  that,  he  felt  somehow  that 
Mr.  Glenn  was  there  in  the  interests  of  fairer 
play  than  he  himself  considered  necessary,  but 
there  was  no  running  counter  to  Glenn's  dictum. 
A  yearling  was  despatched  for  Woods's  uniform 
shoes,  and  it  was  some  minutes  before  he  got 
back.  Then  the  exchange  was  quickly  made, 
and  a  second  time  the  foemen  faced  each  other, 
the  yearling's  skin  as  white  and  firm  as  satin- 
wood,  Geordie's  face  and  neck  brown  as  autumn 
acorns,  his  broad  chest  and  shoulders  pink  and 
hard. 

"  Are  you  ready  f '  asked  Ross.  "  Fall  back, 
Mr.  Jennings." 

Woods  instantly  dropped  into  an  easy,  natural 


124 


pose,  his  guard  well  advanced,  his  right  hand 
low  and  close  to  the  body. 

"  Watch  that  right,  Graham,"  muttered  Con- 
nell,  as  he  backed  away;  and  Geordie  took  a 
similar  stand — clumsier,  perhaps,  but  well  meant. 

And  then  the  simple  word,  "  Go !" 

It  would  have  baffled  an  expert  reporter  to  de 
scribe  what  followed.  Something  like  a  white 
flash  shot  from  Woods's  shoulder  to  start  with, 
and  then  for  just  twenty  seconds  there  was  a 
confused  intermingling  of  white  and  brown.  All 
over  that  springy  sward,  up  and  down,  over 
and  across,  bounding,  dancing,  darting,  dodging, 
Woods  active  and  wary,  Graham  charging  and 
forcing  the  fight,  despite  heavy  blows  planted 
thick  and  fast. 

"  Isn't  he  a  young  mountain-lion  ?"  muttered 
Glenn,  below  his  breath. 

"  He'll  be  worse  than  a  grizzly  if  he  gets  Woods 
in  a  hug,"  was  the  reply.  "Look!  he's  grap 
pled!" 

Reckless  of  punishment  as  was  ever  stalwart 
Roderick,  Geordie  had  backed  his  lighter  foe  up 
the  slope,  then 

"Locked  his  arms  the  foeman  round." 

A  moment  of  straining  and  heaving,  then  down, 
down  they  came  upon  the  turf,  the  plainsman 
atop.  And  then  went  up  a  sudden  shout  of 


125 


warning.     The  next  thing  Graham  knew  he  was 
jerked  to  his  feet. 

"Kun  for  your  life,  plebe!"  was  the  cry,  as  he 
dimly  saw  the  crowd  scattering  in  every  direc 
tion,  and,  led  by  Connell,  rushed  he  knew  not 
whither. 


CHAPTER  YIII 

"  WHO  whipped  ?  How  did  it  end  ?"  asked  a 
swarm  of  old  cadets  of  Mr.  Ross,  on  breaking 
ranks- after  supper. 

"  It  didn't  end,"  was  the  gloomy  answer.  "  Al 
len  jumped  the  fight  and  nabbed  the  plebe.  He 
recognized  me,  too,  I  reckon,  though  the  rest  of 
us  got  away." 

And  so  while  the  Fourth  Class  men  made  a 
rush  to  find  their  champion,  the  elders  clustered 
about  the  referee  for  particulars.  Geordie  was 
found  at  his  tent,  looking  very  solemn,  but  quite 
cool  and  collected.  He  had  changed  back  to 
plebe  dress  again,  and  had  bathed  the  bumps 
and  bruises  on  his  brown  face,  Connell  busily 
aiding  him.  His  hand  was  swollen  and  sore 
from  a  sprain,  but  otherwise  he  was  sound  as 
ever. 

"We  had  Woods  licked,"  said  Connell,  em 
phatically.  "  Graham  had  him  down  when  the 
rush  came.  Everybody  seemed  to  know  which 
way  to  go  except  ourselves.  We  ran  slap  into 
Lieutenant  Allen,  and  he  had  to  stop  and  take 
my  name  instead  of  gobbling  the  others.  Yes ; 


127 


we've  got  to  go  to  the  guard -tent,  they  say. 
There's  no  helping  that." 

This  was  hard  news  indeed.  Fights  are  so 
seldom  interrupted,  and  the  system  is  looked 
upon  so  eminently  as  a  matter  of  course,  that 
nothing  but  the  most  outrageous  luck  could 
have  led  to  this  catastrophe ;  and  then  to  think 
of  Graham's  being  the  victim — Graham  and  his 
second — while  the  real  aggressors  had  escaped 
scot-free ! 

"Not  scot-free,  either,"  said  one  lucky  plebe, 
who  had  seen  the  battle  and  yet  escaped  capture — 
"  not  scot-free,  by  a  long  chalk.  Mr.  Woods  got 
one  Scotch  lick  he  won't  forget  in  a  week." 
Whereat  some  of  the  group  took  heart  and 
laughed;  and  then  who  should  appear  but  the 
adjutant,  Mr.  Glenn. 

"  How  is  it,  plebe — any  damages  ?" 

Geordie  looked  up  through  a  fast-closing  eye 
as  he  buttoned  his  jacket.  "  Hit  pretty  often,  I 
guess,  but  I  didn't  notice  it  much  at  the  time. 
What  troubles  me  is  that  it's  got  Mr.  Connell 
into  the  guard-house." 

"  Well,  that's  just  what  I've  come  to  see  you 
about,"  said  Glenn.  "Don't  worry  a  particle. 
No  one's  more  sorry  you  were  caught  than  Mr. 
Allen  himself,  I'll  bet.  You've  got  to  go  to  the 
guard -tent,  but  that's  only  for  a  few  days. 
There's  no  dodging  regulations,  of  course ;  but 


128 


there  you'll  be  let  alone,  and  there'll  be  nobody 
to  bother  you.  You've  won  the  sympathy  of 
the  whole  corps,  and  you  did  well,  plebe."  And 
here  the  adjutant  put  his  hand  on  Geordie's 
shoulder.  "  That  throw  was  tip-top !" 

And  then  the  assembled  plebes  would  have 
been  only  too  glad  to  give  three  cheers  for  the 
adjutant ;  but  so  big  a  gathering  of  the  "  ani 
mals"  attracted  the  instant  attention  of  their 
natural  enemies,  the  yearlings,  who  swooped 
down  to  disperse  the  crowd,  and  the  patrol  came 
from  the  guard-tent,  and  with  much  show  of  se 
verity  the  corporal  directed  Pops  and  Connell 
to  fetch  their  blankets  and  come  along. 

And  so,  solemnly,  the  two  culprits  were  marched 
away  amid  the  subdued  remarks  of  sympathy  on 
every  hand — even  the  group  of  elders  about  Koss 
— and  in  much  better  frame  of  mind  than  that 
magnate,  for  the  orderly  came  at  the  moment  to 
summon  Mr.  Glenn  to  the  commandant's  tent. 
That  meant  the  colonel  wanted  his  adjutant; 
and  that  probably  meant  that  those  cadets  whom 
Allen  had  seen  and  recognized  as  participants 
in  the  forbidden  fight  were  now  to  be  placed  in 
arrest. 

Captures  on  the  spot  he  had  made  but  two 
— Geordie,  breathless,  bewildered,  and  half  blind, 
and  his  second,  Connell,  who  stood  by  his  friend 
through  thick  and  thin.  All  the  others  had  scat- 


129 


tered  the  instant  the  warning  cry  of  the  scouts 
was  heard ;  First  Class  men  and  yearlings,  vet 
erans  of  such  occasions,  darting  over  the  para 
pet  and  across  the  road  and  down  the  rocky, 
thickly-wooded  steep  towards  the  chain-battery 
walk,  better  known  as  "  Flirtation ;"  while  Mr. 
Allen,  too  dignified  to  run  in  pursuit,  stumbled, 
as  ill-luck  would  have  it,  on  the  men  he  least 
desired  to  come  upon,  if,  indeed,  he  desired  to 
capture  any. 

But  he  recognized  both  Ross  and  Jennings  as 
they  darted  away,  and  saw  them  prominent  in 
the  ring.  This  meant  jeopardy  for  two  pairs  of 
chevrons.  Ross,  slipping  back  to  camp  at  the  first 
opportunity,  eagerly  questioned  Pops  and  Con- 
nell,  who  had  been  escorted  thither  by  the  offi 
cer.  Had  Mr.  Allen  asked  them  to  name  the  oth 
ers  interested  ?  He  had ;  but,  as  became  cadets, 
they  declined  to  give  their  names.  Glenn  and 
Otis,  the  other  two  First  Class  men  on  the  ground, 
had  quietly  retired  among  the  trees  in  rear  of 
them  on  hearing  the  alarm,  and  then  made  their 
way  out  of  the  gate  as  the  Lieutenant  took  his 
helpless  prisoners  down  the  wooden  stairway  at 
the  southeast  angle.  They  had  not  been  seen. 

As  for  Allen's  coming,  it  was  accidental. 
Strolling  with  a  friend  from  the  hotel  around 
the  road  that  skirts  the  edge  of  the  heights,  he 
heard  sounds  from  across  the  grassy  parapet  no 


130 


graduate  could  mistake.  A  fight,  of  course !  and 
having  heard  it,  it  was  his  duty  to  interfere.  The 
next  minute  he  was  through  the  north  gate  and 
bearing  down  on  the  battle,  when  the  outermost 
yearlings  caught  sight  of  his  coming  and  gave 
the  alarm. 

Ross  and  Jennings  did  not  attend  the  hop  that 
night.  Before  they  had  had  time  to  array  them 
selves  in  fresh  white  trousers  and  their  best  uni 
form  coats,  Mr.  Glenn,  the  adjutant,  had  returned 
from  the  commandant's  tent  and  gone  straight  to 
his  own.  Presently  he  emerged,  girt  with  sash 
and  sword-belt,  and  that  meant  business.  No  use 
for  any  one  to  run  and  hide ;  that  merely  deferred 
matters. 

"  Mr.  Ross,  you  are  hereby  placed  in  close  ar 
rest,  and  confined  to  your  tent.  Charge — pro 
moting  a  fight.  By  order  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Hazzard,"  was  the  pithy  address  he  delivered  to 
his  class-mate,  with  precisely  the  same  amount 
of  emotion  which  he  might  have  displayed  had 
he  informed  him  he  was  detailed  for  guard  duty 
on  the  morrow.  And  yet  seconders  or  pro 
moters  of  cadet  fights  were  by  regulations  re 
garded  as  challengers,  and,  as  such,  subject  to 
court-martial  and  dismissal.  Then  he  went  in 
search  of  Jennings,  and  though  that  worthy  did 
for  a  moment  contemplate  the  possibility  of  hid 
ing  somewhere,  he  was  too  slow  about  it.  Those 


131 


who  heard  Mr.  Glenn  this  time  declare  he  threw 
a  little  more  emphasis  into  the  curt  order. 

And  so,  when  tattoo  sounded  that  night,  Cadet 
Lieutenant  Ross  and  Cadet  Corporal  Jennings 
were  grumbling  at  their  fate  in  close  arrest  at 
their  respective  tents,  for,  being  chevron- wearers, 
they  were  exempt  from  confinement  with  the 
common  herd  at  the  guard-tents,  where  by  this 
time  were  Pops  and  Connell,  by  long  odds  the 
two  most  popular  and  important  members  of  the 
plebe  class. 

And  there  for  one  mortal  week  the  boys  re 
mained,  having  a  very  comfortable  time  of  it, 
barring  the  nuisance  of  being  turned  out  with 
the  guard  every  time  it  was  inspected  at  night. 
They  were  exempt  from  all  the  annoyance  of 
their  comrades  down  in  the  body  of  camp.  They 
attended  all  drills,  and  lost  neither  instruction 
nor  exercise.  They  had  the  unspeakable  delight 
of  being  allowed,  every  warm  evening,  to  raise 
their  tent  walls  after  taps,  and  sit  and  watch 
class-mate  after  class-mate  taking  his  first  lessons 
in  sentry  duty  out  on  the  posts  of  Two  and  Six. 

Especially  Benny,  when  at  last  it  came  his 
turn;  and  that  self  -sufficient  young  soldier,  in 
just  about  one  hour's  active  deviling,  had  per 
haps  the  liveliest  experience  of  a  lifetime.  The 
officers  in  charge  —  for  some  reason  that  has 
never  yet  been  explained  —  seemed  particularly 


132 


deaf  that  night.  The  commandant  and  others 
were  not  disturbed  by  the  racket,  and  Ben 
ny's  instruction,  coaching,  and  testing — above 
all,  the  testing — were  left  entirely  to  the  cadet 
officers  and  non-commissioned  officers  of  the 
guard,  and,  at  odd  times,  to  certain  volunteers 
from  the  tents  of  Companies  C  and  D,  whose 
costumes  were  so  confusing  that  their  own  com 
rades  couldn't  know  them,  much  less  could 
Benny. 

And  so  the  crack  captain  of  the  Beanton  Bat 
talion  was  kept  hurrying  from  one  end  to  the 
other  of  his  post,  challenging  an  array  of  mock 
generals  and  colonels,  armed  parties,  patrols, 
grand  rounds,  reliefs,  friends  with  the  counter 
sign  or  enemies  without  it,  that  would  have  been 
simply  incredible  anywhere  but  on  a  plebe's  post 
at  West  Point.  In  less  than  twenty  minutes 
poor  confident  Benny,  who  had  guard  duty  at 
his  tongue's  end  and  wasn't  going  to  be  fooled 
with,  had  made  every  blunder  a  sentry  could 
possibly  make,  had  lost  every  item  of  arms  and 
equipments,  nerve  and  temper,  and  had  been 
bawling  for  the  corporal  of  the  guard,  Post 
Number  Six,  in  accordance  with  the  methods  of 
the  Beanton  camp,  and  in  defiance  of  the  laws 
and  customs  of  the  regular  service,  all  to  the 
mischievous  delight  of  the  entire  corps,  until 
finally  he  could  bawl  no  longer.  He  had  sneered 


133 


at  Pops  for  being  ducked  in  the  ditch  and  over 
whelmed  in  the  darkness,  yet  he,  occupying 
an  open  post,  had  been  so  utterly  bewildered,  so 
completely  overcome,  that  the  poor  fellow  would 
have  been  thankful  for  a  ditch  wherein  to  hide 
his  diminished  head. 

They  had  been  sent  for,  both  Pops  and  Con- 
nell,  and  questioned  at  the  colonel's  tent  as  to 
the  other  participants  in  the  interrupted  fight, 
but  respectfully  declined  to  say  anything  on  that 
score ;  and  finally,  just  as  it  was  noised  about 
camp  that  the  plebes  were  to  be  put  in  the  bat 
talion,  and  they  were  fearing  their  punishment 
might  keep  them  back,  they  heard  with  beating 
hearts  the  order  of  the  superintendent  read  in 
Glenn's  clear  and  ringing  tones  at  dress  parade. 
Even  to  them,  in  the  ranks  of  the  guard,  with  a 
crowd  of  hundreds  of  gay ly  -  dressed  spectators 
interposing  between  them  and  the  silent  battal 
ion,  every  word  seemed  distinct. 

For  "  inciting,  promoting,  or  otherwise  partic 
ipating  in  a  fight,  Cadet  Lieutenant  Eoss  and 
Cadet  Corporal  Jennings  were  hereby  reduced  to 
the  ranks  and  confined  to  the  body  of  camp  east 
of , the  color-line  until  the  15th  of  August."  New 
Cadets  Connell  and  Graham,  for  taking  part  in 
the  same,  were  ordered  confined  to  camp  for 
the  same  period.  All  urere  released  from  arrest 
and  restored  to  duty;  and  Pops  and  Connell, 


134 


shouldering  their  bedding,  went  back  to  their 
tent  in  Company  B,  and  reporting  to  Cadet  Lieu 
tenant  Merrick,  in  charge  of  the  plebes,  were  wel 
comed  with  acclamations  by  their  class-mates. 

That  night,  for  the  last  time,  the  new-comers 
marched  to  the  mess-hall  as  a  body.  That  night 
at  tattoo,  for  the  first  time,  they  answered  to 
their  names  with  their  companies.  Geordie  and 
Connell,  rejoicing  in  having  got  off  so  easily  (for 
their  punishment  practically  amounted  to  noth 
ing  but  forfeiture  of  the  privilege  of  roaming 
over  public  lands  on  a  Saturday  afternoon  or  the 
mornings  they  marched  off  guard),  and  comforted 
by  friendly  words  let  drop  by  occasional  First 
Class  men,  set  themselves  busily  to  work  to  put 
their  rifles  and  equipments  in  order  again.  Dur 
ing  his  week  in  the  guard-tent  Pops  had  caused 
his  new  box  and  scabbard  to  be  put  in  his  lock 
er,  well  covered  by  clothing.  The  weather  had 
been  hot  and  dry,  so  that  the  handsome  new  rifle 
had  not  suffered  materially. 

Two  days  later  both  Graham  and  Connell  were 
on  the  detail  again  ;  the  First  Class  privates  had 
been  relieved  from  guard  duty  as  such,  and  their 
names  placed  on  a  roster  to  serve  as  junior  offi 
cers  of  the  guard.  The  twenty-one  sentries  were 
therefore  taken  from  the  Third  and  Fourth  class 
es,  and  on  this  particular  occasion  there  marched 
on  eight  yearlings  and  thirteen  plebes.  As  be- 


135 


fore,  Geordie  had  done  his  best  to  have  his  uni 
form  and  equipments  perfect.  As  before,  Mr. 
Glenn  seemed  dissatisfied  with  the  condition  in 
which  he  found  two  of  the  aspirants  for  colors 
among  the  Third  Class  men.  Going  back  to  the 
front  rank,  he  indicated  two  young  gentlemen 
with  a  gesture  of  his  white-gloved  hand,  saying, 
briefly,  "First  colors,  Murray;  second  colors, 
Wren,"  passed  deliberately  by  four  other  year 
lings,  Cadet  Private  Jennings  among  them, 
stopped  squarely  in  front  of  Pops  in  the  centre 
of  the  rear  rank,  and  said,  "Third  colors,  Mr. 
Graham." 

And  our  frontier  boy  felt  the  blood  surging 
and  tingling  up  to  the  tips  of  his  ears.  How  his 
heart  danced  in  response  to  the  sweet  melodies 
of  Strauss,  as  in  waltz  -  time  the  band  beat  off 
down  the  line.  How  proud  and  happy  he  was 
in  response  to  the  ringing  order :  "  Pass  in  re 
view !  Forward,  guide  right!"  The  natty  lit 
tle  column  marched  blithely  away,  wheeling  at 
the  angles,  passing  the  statuesque  officer  of  the 
day  with  perfect  alignment  and  easy  swinging 
step.  Prompt  and  silent  he  stepped  from  the 
ranks  at  the  order,  "  Colors,  fall  out !"  knowing 
that  every  eye  would  be  on  him  as  he  passed 
in  front  of  the  guard.  Then  came  the  order, 
"  Kest !"  and  then,  instantly,  in  Jennings's  angry 
voice,  "  By  thunder !  that's  the  first  time  I  ever 


136 


heard  of  colors  being  given  to  a  plebe  when 
there  were  old  cadets  in  line."  And  every  year 
ling  in  the  detail  probably  sympathized  with 
him. 

But  it  was  not  the  .adjutant  with  whom  Mr. 
Jennings  purposed  squaring  accounts  for  the  al 
leged  indignity,  but  the  plebe  whose  sole  offence 
was  that  he  had  obeyed  orders  too  well. 

"Keep  clear  of  that  brute  Jennings  all  you 
can  to-day,"  whispered  Connell  to  his  tent-mate. 
"  He  means  mischief." 

And  Geordie  nodded.  Instinctively  he  felt 
that  that  burly  yearling  was  his  determined  ene 
my,  and  that  more  trouble  was  coming.  From 
Woods  he  had  had  not  a  word  beyond  the  in 
timation  sent  by  Mr.  Curtis,  a  quiet,  gentlemanly 
fellow,  that  as  soon  as  the  excitement  had  blown 
over  he  should  expect  Mr.  Graham  to  meet  him 
again  and  finish  the  fight.  Referring  this  to 
their  First  Class  mentor,  Mr.  Otis,  they  were  told 
that  it  was  customary,  though  not  necessary.  So 
Pops  simply  replied,  "  All  right." 

But  Mr.  Jennings  behaved  with  rare  diplo 
macy.  All  day  long  he  held  aloof  from  Gra 
ham,  never  so  much  as  looking  at  him  after  the 
first  angry  outbreak.  That  evening,  when  re 
lieved  from  guard  and  told  he  might  return  to 
his  tent,  Geordie  really  didn't  know  what  to 
do  with  himself.  He  would  much  rather  have 


137 


been  subject  to  sentry  duty  all  night.  How 
ever,  he  carefully  placed  his  prized  rifle  in  the 
gun-rack ;  and  that  evening  a  lot  of  plebes  were 
singing  and  sparring  for  the  amusement  of  their 
elders  over  in  D  Company,  so  Geordie  went 
thither  to  look  on  and  laugh.  When  the  drums 
came  beating  tattoo  across  the  Plain  he  returned 
to  his  tent,  which  was  dark  and  deserted.  ISTot 
until  after  roll-call  did  Foster  strike  a  light. 
Then  Graham  noticed  that  four  or  five  Third 
Class  men  were  standing  and  watching  him 
rather  closely,  though  keeping  across  the  street. 
He  stepped  inside,  intending  to  make  down  his 
bed  for  the  night ;  and  then,  there  stood  Fos 
ter,  candle  in  hand,  looking  blankly  at  the  three 
muskets. 

"  Why,  Graham,"  said  he,  slowly,  "  what's 
happened  to  your  gun  ?" 

Turning  instantly,  Geordie  saw  by  the  light 
of  the  candle,  in  place  of  the  flawless,  glistening 
weapon  he  had  left  there  an  hour  earlier,  a  rifle 
coated  red  with  rust  and  dirt.  Amazed,  he  seized 
and  drew  it  forth,  mechanically  forcing  open  the 
breech-lock  and  glancing  in.  There  could  be  no 
mistake;  from  butt  plate  to  front  sight,  barrel, 
bands,  hammer,  lock  and  guard,  breech-block  and 
all,  it  was  one  mass  of  rust.  Dazed  and  dismayed, 
he  looked  for  the  number,  and  then  all  doubt  was 
gone.  It  was  his  own  old  rifle,  the  one  that  had 


138 


been  taken  away  his  first  night  on  post.  His 
beautiful  new  gun  was  gone. 

One  moment  he  stood  irresolute,  then  sprang 
forth  into  the  company  street. 

"  Mr.  Bend,"  he  cried,  in  wrath  and  excitement, 
"  look,  sir,  they've  taken  away  my  new  rifle  and 
left  this,  my  old  one,  in  its  place !" 

"  Who  has  done  it  ?"  snapped  Bend,  flaring 
up  with  indignation,  as  he  saw  the  abominable 
plight  of  the  restored  weapon.  "  Have  you  any 
idea  ?  Any  suspicion  ?" 

"No,  sir,  I  can't  accuse  any  one.  It's  too 
mean  a  trick." 

A  dozen  yearlings  were  gathered  by  this  time, 
saying  very  little,  however,  and  some  of  them 
exchanging  significant  glances,  but  Bend  turned 
impatiently  away,  ordering  Pops  to  follow. 

"  Oh,  Leonard,  look  at  this!"  he  cried,  as  they 
reached  the  captain's  tent,  and  a  long  whistle 
of  amazement  and  indignation  was  all  the  First 
Class  man  would  at  first  venture  in  reply. 

"  That  gun  has  been  lying  in  damp  grass  ever 
since  the  night  you  lost  it,"  said  he,  finally. 
"  The  man  who  took  your  new  one  knew  where 
to  find  this,  and  was  one  of  the  party  that  downed 
you.  Have  you  still  no  suspicion  ?" 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Geordie,  with  a  gulp.  "  I  sup 
pose  they  did  it  out  of  revenge  for  my  taking 
colors  this  morning." 


139 


"  Glenn !  oh,  Glenn !"  called  Mr.  Leonard  from 
his  tent  door. 

"  Hello !"  came  the  answer  back  through  the 
darkness. 

"  Come  here,  will  you  ?  lively — I  want  you." 

The  drums  and  fifes  by  this  time  were  halted 
on  the  color -line,  and  the  last  part  of  tattoo 
was  sounding.  Bend  turned  away  to  superintend 
the  formation  of  his  company,  but  the  captain 
directed  Graham  to  remain.  Presently  the  sol 
dierly  form  of  the  adjutant  appeared. 

"  Look  at  that !"  said  Leonard,  handing  him 
Graham's  rifle. 

"  Hello,  where  did  you  find  it,  plebe  ?" 

"  In  my  gun-rack,  sir,  just  now,  in  place  of  the 
new  one  you  saw  at  guard -mounting  this  morn- 
ing." 

'*  Do  you  mean  that's  gone  ?" 

"  Yesj  sir." 

"  That'll  do,  then.  Join  your  company.  Leon 
ard,"  said  he,  as  Geordie  turned  away,  "  the  man 
that  did  this  dirty  trick  shall  be  kicked  out  of 
the  corps  inside  of  six  months,  if  I  have  to  drop 
everything  else  to  find  him." 


CHAPTER  IX 

EVENTS  crowded  thick  and  fast  into  plebe  life 
during  the  next  few  days.  In  the  first  place 
both  the  adjutant  and  Cadet  Captain  Leonard 
came  to  Geordie's  tent  a  little  after  taps  the 
night  of  the  discovery  of  the  exchange  of  rifles. 
Pops  and  Foster  were  still  awake,  chatting  in 
whispers  about  the  matter.  Benny,  who  had 
been  full  of  excitement  and  interest  at  first, 
seemed  to  be  overcome  by  drowsiness  and  dropped 
off  to  sleep.  The  boys  were  advised  by  the 
First  Class  men  to  say  as  little  as  possible  on 
the  subject.  Leonard  would  report  it  to  the 
commandant,  as  in  duty  bound,  but  ask  that  no 
official  investigation  be  made.  He  had  strong 
suspicions,  he  said,  and  if  the  perpetrators  were 
not  put  upon  their  guard  something  might  be  ef 
fected.  Then,  next  morning,  when  Mr.  Jennings 
marched  off  guard  he  surprised  his  class-mates  by 
denouncing  the  whole  business  as  a  low-lived 
trick.  Of  course  the  plebe  ought  to  be  "  taken 
down,"  but  not  by  any  such  means  as  that.  He 
came  over  to  B  Company  street  as  his  class  was 
dismissed  after  battery  drill  and  talked  at  Bend, 


141 


who  paid  no  attention  to  him.  He  went  so  far 
as  to  say  that  he  believed  no  Third  Class  man 
had  anything  to  do  with  the  business ;  it  was  the 
work  of  plebes  who  were  jealous  of  the  partial 
ity  shown  Graham  by  the  adjutant.  There  was 
the  man  who  should  be  given  to  understand  by 
the  whole  class  what  they  thought  of  him  and 
his  conduct!  Other  yearlings  chimed  in  with 
one  view  or  another,  but  Bend,  working  away 
over  some  company  papers  in  his  tent,  held  his 
peace.  Jennings,  who  had  already  an  unsettled 
score  with  Bend,  was  galled  by  this  cool,  almost 
contemptuous  manner,  and  the  next  thing  any 
body  knew  hot  words  were  exchanged  —  hot  at 
least  on  the  part  of  Jennings,  for  Bend  kept  con 
trol  of  his  tongue  and  temper — and  that  evening 
occurred  one  of  the  most  famous  fights  Fort  Clin 
ton  ever  saw,  and  Bend,  game  to  the  last,  though 
outmatched  from  the  start,  was  finally  whipped. 
For  three  days  B  Company  was  deprived  of  the 
services  of  their  plucky  senior  corporal,  and  little 
Hastings  had  to  act  as  first  sergeant  while  his 
senior  stayed  in  hospital  until  his  many  bruises 
were  reduced.  Bend  was  not  the  only  cadet 
whose  name  appeared  on  the  morning  sick  report, 
submitted  to  the  commandant,  with  "contusions  " 
given  as  the  reason  of  his  disability,  and  every 
body  in  authority  knew  perfectly  well  that  "  con 
tusions  "  meant  another  fight ;  but  so  long  as  no 


142 


one  was  caught  in  the  act,  no  punishment  fol 
lowed.  The  difference  between  the  cadet  duels 
and  those  of  the  French  fencers  or  German  stu 
dents  appears  to  be  that,  though  only  nature's 
weapons  are  allowed,  somebody  has  to  be  hurt. 
But  though  declared  victor,  as  anybody  could 
have  predicted  he  would  be,  Jennings  was  any 
thing  but  a  happy  man.  He  had  lost  his  chev 
rons.  He  had  lost  much  of  the  popularity  that 
had  attended  him  since  the  plebe  camp  of  the 
previous  year,  when  his  class-mates  hailed  him  as 
one  of  their  champions.  He  saw  that  now  the 
better  men  looked  upon  him  as  verging  close 
upon  bully  hood,  holding  that  he  had  forced  the 
fight  between  Woods  and  Graham  and  then 
forced  another  between  himself  and  Bend,  a  man 
whom  he  clearly  outclassed.  This  in  itself  was 
enough  to  hurt  him  seriously,  but  there  were 
graver  matters  afoot.  Glenn  had  never  yet 
dropped  the  "  Mister  "  in  speaking  to  him,  and, 
by  the  unwritten  laws  of  the  corps  of  cadets, 
that  meant  "  keep  your  distance."  The  invaria 
ble  custom  of  the  old  cadets,  First  Class  officers 
and  all,  was  to  "  Mister"  everybody  in  the  Fourth 
Class  from  the  date  of  their  entrance  until  the 
coming  of  the  following  June  —  nearly  twelve 
long  months — but  then  to  drop  the  formal  title, 
and  welcome  the  new  yearling  to  the  comrade 
ship  of  the  corps.  Then  every  yearling  in  good 


143 


standing  expected  to  be  hailed  by  his  surname  or 
the  jovial  nickname,  and  in  return  to  be  accorded 
the  proud  privilege  of  addressing  even  the  first 
captain  and  adjutant  as  friends  and  comrades— 
as  "  Kand  "  and  "  Glenn,"  as  the  case  might  be. 
West  Point  recognizes  no  secret  societies,  no  oath- 
bound  fraternities.  There  is  one  general  brother 
hood,  initiation  to  which  occupies  fully  ten  weeks, 
probation  nearly  ten  months,  but  membership  is 
for  life  or  good  behavior.  ]S"ow  Glenn  plainly 
said  by  his  manner  that  he  neither  liked  nor 
trusted  Jennings,  and  Mr.  Kand,  the  big  first 
captain,  who  was  at  first  so  friendly  to  him,  now 
began  to  hold  aloof.  It  was  anything  but  as  a 
conquering  hero  he  returned  from  the  battle  with 
Bend.  He  had  expected  no  such  display  of  cool, 
nervy,  determined  courage  against  such  odds.  He 
was  sore  without  and  within,  though  he  had  re 
ceived,  of  course,  no  such  heavy  punishment  as 
had  sent  Bend  to  the  hospital.  He  sat  with  his 
silent  second  in  his  tent,  applying  wet  sponges  to 
his  bruises  and  noting  how  few  were  the  con 
gratulations,  how  indifferent  the  inquiries  as  to 
his  own  condition.  Later  he  was  lying  on  his 
blankets  revolving  matters  in  his  mind,  wonder 
ing  what  he  could  do  to  restore  his  waning  popu 
larity,  when  he  heard  some  plebes  chatting  eager 
ly  in  the  B  Company  tent  just  back  of  his  own. 
"  Graham's  got  his  gun  again  all  right,"  was  what 


144 


they  were  saying,  and  before  he  could  arrive  at 
further  particulars  who  should  appear  at  the  tent 
door  but  the  adjutant  and  Cadet  Captain  Leon 
ard.  They  bade  him  lie  still,  but  they  had  a 
question  or  two  to  ask. 

"You  were  on  post  on  Number  Three  last 
evening,  Mr.  Jennings,"  said  Glenn,  "  and  for  full 
an  hour  before  tattoo,  when  Mr.  Graham's  new 
rifle  was  exchanged  for  an  old  rusty  one.  The 
new  rifle  was  found  in  the  weeds  near  the  dump 
hollow  close  to  your  post.  Did  no  one  cross  your 
post  ?" 

"  Not  a  soul  that  I  saw,"  promptly  answered 
Jennings,  "and  unless  it  was  found  in  the 
south  ditch  of  Fort  Clinton,  it  must  have  been 
hidden  nearer  Number  Two's  day  post  than 
mine." 

"We  have  questioned  Number  Two,"  said 
Glenn,  briefly.  "  He  denies  all  knowledge  of  it. 
He  says,  what's  more,  that  nobody  could  have 
got  away  without  his  seeing  him.  It  was  Mr. 
Douglas,  of  the  Fourth  Class,  as  you  know,  and 
this  was  his  third  tour." 

"  Oh,  I  can't  pretend  to  say  no  one  got  across 
my  post.  No  one  can  be  at  all  parts  of  that  long 
beat  at  the  same  time.  It  was  cloudy,  too,  and 
pitch  dark.  Anybody  could  have  crossed  up 
there  at  the  west  end  while  I  was  down  by  your 
tent.  If  the  gun  was  found  there,  it  is  more  than 


145 


likely  some  one  did  cross.     It  would  have  gone 
hard  with  him  if  Fd  caught  him." 

"Then  you're  sure  you  saw  no  one — had  no 
conversation  with  anybody  ?" 

"  I  saw  no  one  cross.  I  held  conversation  with 
half  a  dozen — class-mates  and  plebes  both — when 
I  happened  to  be  down  by  the  tank.  There  were 
Cresswell  and  Drake,  and  Curry  early  in  the 
evening;  they  were  condoling  with  me  about 
being  '  broke.'  Then  there  were  plebes  coming 
down  there  frequently ;  I  had  more  or  less  chaff 
with  them,  and  Major- General  Frazier  among 
them.  I  heard  him  spouting  about  his  ex 
ploits.  "Where  was  the  rifle  found?"  continued 
Jennings. 

"  Oh,  out  near  the  east  end  of  the  old  dump 
hollow,  hidden  among  the  weeds  and  rubbish," 
said  Leonard.  "  But  never  mind  that  just  now. 
It  was  brought  to  my  tent,  and  you  are  reported 
to  have  said  you  thought  it  was  the  work  of  some 
plebe.  Why  3" 

"  Well,  lots  of  'em  are  jealous  of  Mr.  Graham 
for  getting  colors  so  easily  for  one  thing.  They 
think  the  commandant  shows  him  partiality. 
They  say  it's  because  Graham's  father  is  an  army 
officer.  That's  why  I  think  they  might  have  put 
up  the  job  among  themselves." 

."Yes?     And  how  did  they  know  where  the 
old  gun  was  hidden — the  one  that  was  taken  from 

10 


146 


him  the  night  he  was  dumped  into  the  ditch  off 
Number  Three  ?    You  think  plebes  did  that  ?" 

But  that  was  something  Jennings  could  not 
answer.  He  stopped  short,  and  was  evidently 
confused. 

There  was  indeed  something  queer  about  the 
case.  Very  little  the  worse  for  its  night  in  the 
weeds,  thanks  to  there  having  been  no  dew,  for' 
the  night  skies  were  overcast  by  heavy  clouds, 
the  rifle  was  brought  in  by  a  drum -boy  orderly, 
who  said  he  stumbled  upon  it  accidentally.  Glenn 
had  cross -questioned  sharply,  but  the  boy  per 
sisted  in  his  story.  It  was  the  same  youngster 
whom  Benny  had  employed  to  buy  him  cigar 
ettes  at  the  Falls.  Pops  was  overjoyed  to  get  his 
beautiful  rifle  again,  and,  personally,  well  con 
tent  to  drop  any  effort  to  find  the  perpetrator. 
Indeed,  it  seemed  for  a  time  as  though  nothing 
was  being  done.  Bend  came  back  to  duty  with 
discolored  face,  cool  and  steady  as  ever,  and  Jen 
nings  kept  away  from  the  B  Company  street, 
where  he  now  had  few  friends.  Geordie  began 
to  wonder  when  the  yearlings  would  decide  to 
summon  him  to  Fort  Clinton  to  settle  the  score 
still  hung  up  between  Woods  and  himself.  It 
was  awkward  sitting  at  table  with  a  man  to 
whom  he  couldn't  speak. 

Meantime  every  day  and  hour  made  him  more 
at  home  in  his  duties  and  in  the  new  life.  Of 


"THE  RIFLE  WAS  BROUGHT  IN  BY  A  DRUM-BOY  ORDERLY 


147 


course  it  wasn't  pleasant  to  be  everywhere  hailed 
as  " Corporal"  Graham,  and  to  be  compelled, 
whether  in  ranks  or  out,  wherever  he  moved,  to 
stalk  along  with  his  shoulders  braced  back,  his 
little  fingers  on  the  seams  of  his  trousers  and  the 
palms  of  his  hands  turned  square  to  the  front,  his 
elbows  in  consequence  being  spitted  to  his  side 
like  the  wings  of  a  trussed  chicken ;  but  this  was 
the  method  resorted  to  with  one  and  all  the  new 
comers,  whether  naturally  erect  or  not,  to  square 
the  shoulders,  flatten  the  back,  and  counteract 
the  ridiculous  carriage  of  so  many — at  least,  of  the 
Eastern  city  boys.  Anglomania  in  exaggerated 
form  was  epidemic  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard  just 
then,  and  to  insure  recognition  in  polite  society 
it  seemed  to  be  necessary  to  cultivate  a  bow- 
legged,  knee-sprung  style  of  walk,  with  shoulders 
hunched  forward,  chest  flat,  elbows  bent  at  right 
angles,  and  carried  straight  out  from  the  side ; 
these,  with  a  vacuous  expression  of  countenance 
being  considered  "good  form";  and  strenuous 
measures  were  resorted  to  at  the  Point  to 
knock  it  out  of  such  college- bred  youngsters  as 
sought  to  set  the  fashion  in  the  corps. 

But  what  appetites  they  had  !  How  dreamless 
were  their  hours  of  sleep !  How  vigorous  and 
healthful  the  days  of  martial  exercise !  Squad 
drills  were  all  finished  now.  Fully  uniformed 
and  equipped,  the  whole  plebe  class  was  in  the 


148 


battalion.  A  "  live  "  superintendent  was  watch 
ing  every  detail  of  their  doings.  The  system  of 
responsibility  among  the  officers,  both  graduates 
and  cadets,  was  such  that  no  disturbance  of  any 
account  occurred  by  night,  no  hazing  of  a  harm 
ful  nature  by  day.  The  roar  of  the  morning  gun 
and  the  rattle  and  bang  of  the  drums  brought 
Pops  from  his  blanket  with  a  bound.  He  was 
always  one  of  the  first  to  appear  in  front  of  his 
tent,  sousing  head  and  chest  and  arms  in  cool 
water,  then  rubbing  the  hard  skin  red  before 
dressing  for  roll-call.  Benny,  on  the  other  hand, 
self-indulgent  and  procrastinating,  copjnng  after 
the  old  cadets,  thought  it  more  professional  to 
lie  abed  three  minutes  longer,  and  then  come 
flying  out  at  the  last  minute,  frequently  to  be 
reported  late  at  reveille,  and  demerited  accord 
ingly.  So,  too,  in  many  another  matter.  Howso 
ever  excellent  he  may  have  appeared  on  parade 
in  command  of  the  High-school  Cadets,  Benny 
was  no  model  on  drill  as  a  high  private.  His 
wits,  too,  had  a  way  of  going  wool-gathering, 
and  while  young  men  like  Geordie  and  Connell 
paid  strict  attention  to  business  and  rarely  re 
ceived  reports  of  any  kind,  the  "Major-General" 
was  in  perpetual  hot -water,  and  ever  ready  to 
lay  the  blame  on  somebody  else.  One  thing  he 
could  do  to  perfection — that  was  make  expla 
nations.  He  wrote  a  beautiful  hand.  He  was 


149 


plausible,  pleading,  and  successful.  He  was  as 
full  of  excuse  as  an  Irish  laundress. 

"  He's  got  more  reports  on  the  delinquency 
books  than  any  one  in  the  class,"  said  Pops,  re 
proachfully. 

"  Yes,"  said  Connell,  whimsically,  "  and  more 
of  'em  off." 

And  thereby  hangs  a  tale. 

~No  cadet  can  expect  to  get  along  without  ever 
receiving  reports.  Any  boy  who  so  desires  can 
readily  obtain  reports  aggregating  one  hundred 
demerit  in  a  single  day ;  yet  if  he  receive  that 
many  in  six  months,  out  he  goes  into  the  world 
again,  discharged  for  failure  in  discipline.  The 
breaches  of  regulation  in  the  power  of  a  boy  to 
commit  are  simply  myriad.  Only  by  determi 
nation  to  conform  to  rules  in  the  first  place  and 
eternal  vigilance  in  the  second  can  he  live  with 
out  demerit.  Even  then  the  faintest  slip  —  a 
loose  button,  shoestring,  drawer-string,  a  speck 
of  dust,  a  tarnished  belt-plate,  an  instant's  moon 
ing  on  drill  or  parade — renders  him  liable.  To 
utterly  avoid  report  one  has  to  be  all  eyes,  ears, 
and  attention. 

Now,  while  it  is  hardly  possible  to  get  along 
without  ever  receiving  a  report,  it  is  equally  im 
possible  to  be  perpetually  receiving  them  with 
out  being  more  or  less  to  blame.  Here  was 
Benny's  weakness.  He  blamed  everybody  but 


150 


himself,  and,  so  believing,  sought  to  convince 
the  commandant.  Before  camp  was  over  it  was 
said  of  him  that  he  got  off  many  a  report  he 
richly  deserved — a  most  unfortunate  reputation 
at  West  Point — for  there  the  first  lesson  taught 
and  the  last  insisted  on  was  uthe  truth  in  every 
thing,  and  nothing  but  the  truth." 

As  read  out  by  the  adjutant  each  day  after 
parade,  and  posted  at  the  tent  of  the  sergeant- 
major,  the  delinquency  list  of  the  corps  was  a 
long  one.  Every  cadet  reported  for  an  offence 
from  "  absence  from  reveille  "  to  "  dusty  shoes  " 
had  forty-eight  hours  within  which  to  render  a 
written  explanation,  something  after  this  form : 

CAMP  REYNOLDS,  WEST  POINT,  N.  Y., 

August  1,  18 — . 

Offence. — Absent  from  reveille. 
Explanation. — It  was  raining.     The  tent  walls 
were  battened  down.     I  did  not 
hear  the  drums  until  some  one 
called  me.     I  was  in  my  tent  all 
the  time. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

A.  B.  SMITH, 
Cadet  Private,  Fourth  Class,  Company  B. 

A  cadet  reported  absent  from  any  duty  had 
to  explain  and  say  that  he  was  on  limits  at  the 


151 


time  or  else  be  court-martialled.  Except  for  ab 
sences  he  need  offer  no  explanation  unless  he  so 
desired.  If  satisfactory  explanation  were  ten 
dered,  the  commandant  crossed  off  the  report ; 
if  unsatisfactory,  he  so  indorsed  the  paper  and 
sent  it  forward  to  the  superintendent  four  days 
later.  The  cadet  had  still  the  right  to  appeal  to 
the  superintendent,  but  if  no  appeal  were  made 
it  was  posted  in  the  big  record  books  at  head 
quarters,  and  stands  there  yet  in  black  and 
white.  It  is  odd  to  read  what  little  blunders 
our  biggest  generals  made  in  their  cadet  days. 
Now  Geordie  got  few  reports,  and  wrote  fewer 
explanations.  Benny  spent  half  his  time  submit 
ting  excuses. 

One  evening  there  was  a  crowd  of  visitors  at 
parade.  The  band  had  just  begun  its  march 
down  the  front  of  the  motionless  gray-and-white 
line.  The  commanding  officer,  Lieutenant  Web 
ster,  in  lonely  dignity,  stood  with  folded  arms 
facing  the  colors  out  in  front  of  the  centre,  the 
most  conspicuous  figure  on  the  field.  Twenty 
paces  behind  him  was  the  long,  deep  rank  of 
visitors  seated  on  camp-chairs,  chatting  and 
laughing  in  subdued  tones,  and  watching  the 
gray  battalion  on  the  color -line.  Suddenly  a 
little  mite  of  a  boy,  who  had  broken  away  from 
some  gossiping  nurse,  came  toddling  gravely 
forth  upon  the  sacred  ground,  and,  with  all 


152 


the  innocence  and  curiosity  of  childhood,  moved 
slowly  yet  confidently  on  until  close  to  the  blue- 
and- red -and -gold  statue,  and  there  halted  with 
much  wonderment  in  the  baby  face,  and  began 
a  careful  study  of  the  strange,  fascinating  object 
before  him.  The  spectators  shook  with  merri 
ment.  The  laughter  could  not  be  controlled, 
and  in  a  moment  the  epidemic  had  reached  the 
battalion.  '<  The  whole  front  rank  shook  and 
snickered,"  as  Geordie  afterwards  wrote  home. 
Mr.  Webster's  face  grew  redder  than  his  trailing 
plume,  and  he  bit  savagely  at  his  lip  in  his  effort 
to  control  his  sense  of  the  ludicrous.  But  when 
a  French  bonne  burst  through  the  line  of  visitors 
and  charged  jabbering  down  on  the  little  inno 
cent,  only  to  drive  him  full  tilt  in  between  the 
battalion  and  its  now  convulsed  commander, 
to  capture  him  midway,  and  to  be  pounded,  pom 
melled,  and  stormed  at  in  baby  vernacular  as 
she  bore  him  away,  "Why,  1  just  bust  my  chin- 
strap  trying  to  keep  from  laughing,"  said  Con- 
nell,  "  and  almost  every  plebe  in  the  line  was 
'skinned'  for  highly  unmilitary  conduct,  laughing 
in  ranks  at  parade."  Plebes  always  catch  it  on 
such  occasions.  Geordie  had  controlled  himself  to 
the  extent  of  suppressing  any  sound,  but  Benny 
had  gurgled  and  chuckled  and  exclaimed  aloud. 
And  yet  when  the  reports  were  read  out  the 
next  evening,  and  the  plebes  were  holding  an 


153 


impromptu  indignation  meeting,  big  Harry  Winn 
stopped  and  asked  Graham  what  explanation  he 
was  going  to  write. 

"  None  at  all,"  said  Pops.  "  I  suppose  I  did 
laugh— I  couldn't  help  it." 

But  Benny  Frazier,  who  had  not  only  laughed 
aloud,  but  uttered  some  expression  of  boyish  de 
light,  said,  "  Well,  you  bet  I  don't  mean  to  swal 
low  any  two  or  three  demerit  if  an  explanation 
will  get  it  off."  And  Geordie  looked  at  him 
without  saying  a  word. 

Two  days  later  the  colonel  sent  for  Pops. 

"  Mr.  Graham,"  he  said,  "  you  have  offered  no 
explanation  for  laughing  in  ranks  at  parade; 
most  of  those  reported  have  done  so ;  why  didn't 
you?" 

Geordie  colored,  as  he  always  did  when  em 
barrassed.  Finally  he  said :  "  The  report  was 
true,  sir.  I  couldn't  help  it  exactly,  but — I  had 


no  excuse." 


"  Well,  in  a  case  like  this,  where  something 
comical  really  appeared,  I  do  not  care  to  see  a 
cadet  punished,  provided  he  comes  forward  and 
explains  the  matter.  Your  tent -mate,  for  in 
stance,  explains  it  very  well,  and  says  he  couldn't 
help  smiling  a  little,  so  I  took  his  report  off  as  a 
matter  of  course.  It  seems  to  me  you  have  al 
lowed  several  reports  to  stand  against  you  that 
were  removed  in  his  case.  I  shall  remove  this 


154 


one.  That  is  all,  sir."  And  Geordie  saluted, 
and  walked  thoughtfully  away. 

How  could  Frazier  truthfully  say  he  had  only 
smiled ;  or  worse,  how  could  he  imply  that  he 
did  nothing  else,  without  so  saying,  when  Gra 
ham  and  others  well  knew  he  both  laughed  and 
muttered  audibly  ?  Geordie  began  to  understand 
why  it  was  that  Frazier  seldom  showed  his  ex 
planations. 

Yet,  when  Benny  eagerly  asked  him  what  the 
colonel  said,  Pops  knew  not  how  to  tell  him 
what  was  uppermost  in  his  mind.  And  he  had 
promised  to  be  Frazier' s  room-mate. 

That  evening  Mr.  Glenn,  the  adjutant,  called 
him  aside. 

"  Mr.  Graham,  your  confinement  in  camp  will 
expire  next  week,  and  I  understand  Mr.  Jennings 
is  saying  that  as  soon  as  you  are  released  you 
will  have  to  meet  either  Mr.  Woods  or  himself. 
I  have  seen  Mr.  Woods,  and  told  him  that  you 
have  done  all  that  is  necessary;  that  he  was 
wrong  in  the  first  place.  Now  should  Mr.  Jen- 
nings  make  any  demands,  I  wish  you  to  refuse, 
and  refer  him  to  me." 

Two  days  later  Benny  Frazier,  with  white, 
scared  look  in  his  face,  said:  "Pops,  do  you 
know  anything  about  it  ?  Jennings  has  just  been 
put  in  arrest — conduct  unbecoming  a  cadet  and 
a  gentleman — and  they  say  it's  about  your  rifle." 


CHAPTER  X 

* 

YEARLING  faces  in  camp  were  looking  very 
solemn  one  hot  August  morning.  Cadet  Jen 
nings,  in  arrest,  had  sought  permission  to  speak 
to  the  commandant ;  had  been  granted  an  inter 
view,  and  had  come  back  with  very  little  of  his 
old  confident,  even  swaggering,  manner.  He 
had  been  in  close  arrest  six  days,  the  object  of 
much  sympathy  among  certain  of  his  class-mates, 
because  it  was  given  out  that  he  was  to  be  made 
an  example  of,  all  on  account  of  suspected  partic 
ipation  in  the  trick  that  had  deprived  a  plebe, 
temporarily  at  least,  of  his  new  rifle ;  which,  ac 
cording  to  yearling  views,  he  had  no  business 
with,  anyhow.  Several  things  happened,  howev 
er,  which  wiser  heads  in  the  corps  could  not  ac 
count  for  at  all.  First,  Jennings  had  sent  for 
and  held  some  confidential  talk  with  Frazier. 
Frazier  was  seen  that  night  in  conversation  with 
a  drummer-boy  in  rear  of  the  orderly's  tent— 
"  Asking  him  to  get  me  some  cigarettes,"  ex 
plained  Benny.  Two  days  later  the  Honorable 
Mr.  Frazier  arrived  at  the  Point,  and  spent  a 
long  afternoon  with  his  son  ;  and  saw  him  again 


156 


in  the  visitors'  tent  that  evening.  This  time  Mr. 
Frazier  senior  did  not  favor  the  officers  with 
accounts  of  Benny's  prowess  at  the  high-school ; 
he  even  avoided  them,  especially  the  superin 
tendent  and  commandant,  both  of  whom  he  re 
ferred  to  subsequently  as  men  with  very  narrow 
views  of  life.  He  spent  a  day  at  the  Falls  be 
low,  and  took  a  West  Shore  train  and  hurried 
away. 

The  last  week  of  August  came.  The  days 
were  hot;  the  nights  so  chilly  that  the  guard 
wore  overcoats  from  the  posting  of  the  first  re 
lief  after  tattoo.  In  the  distinguished  quartet 
of  occupants  of  plebe  hotel  Xo.  2  of  Company 
B  three  at  least  had  been  marvellously  benefit 
ed  by  their  experience  in  camp — "Corporal"  Gra 
ham,  Connell,  and  Foster.  Their  clear  eyes  and 
brown  skin  told  of  the  perfection  of  health  and 
condition ;  but  "  Major-General "  Frazier  looked 
far  from  well.  He  was  evidently  troubled  in 
mind  and  body,  and  utterly  out  of  sorts. 

Camp  was  to  be  broken  on  the  29th,  and 
the  tents  struck,  in  accordance  with  the  old 
fashion,  at  the  tap  of  the  drum.  The  furlough 
men  would  return  at  noon  on  the  28th.  Once 
more  the  ranks  would  be  full,  and  the  halls  and 
barracks  echoing  to  the  shouts  of  glad  young 
voices ;  but  meantime  a  solemn  function  was 
going  on  —  a  court-martial  for  the  trial  of  cer- 


157 


tain  members  of  the  corps.  Messrs.  Ferguson 
and  Folliott  of  the  Third  Class  had  been 
"  hived '/  absent  at  inspection  after  taps.  Lieu 
tenant  Cross,  commander  of  Company  D,  who 
was  making  a  bull's-eye  count  about  11.30 
one  moonlit  August  evening,  found  these  two 
lambs  of  his  flock  astray,  and  directed  Cadet 
Lieutenant  Fish,  officer  of  the  day,  to  inspect 
for  them  every  half-hour.  It  was  2  A.M.  before 
they  turned  up— young  idiots — in  civil  garb  and 
false  mustaches.  Each  had  already  an  over 
whelming  array  of  demerit.  Each  had  barely 
escaped  deficiency  at  the  June  examination. 
Each  felt  confident  his  cadet  days  were  num 
bered,  and  so,  courting  a  little  cheap  notoriety, 
they  determined  to  make  a  name  for  what  used 
to  be  termed  "  recklessness,"  and  "  ran  it "  down 
to  Cranston's  Hotel  in  disguise.  Their  fate  was 
assured — dismissal — and  their  trial  occupied  no 
time  at  all.  No  one  recognized  them  while  away 
from  the  Point.  It  was  sufficient  that  they  were 
absent  from  their  tents  more  than  half  an  hour. 

And  then  Cadet  Jennings  was  called,  and,  as 
was  the  custom  in  those  days,  Cadet  Jennings 
had  asked  a  First  Class  man  to  act  as  his  counsel, 
and  Cadet  Ross  was  introduced  as  amicus  curice. 
The  court  sat  in  a  big  vacant  room  in  the  old 
Academic  that  summer,  an  object  of  much  in 
terest  to  swarms  of  visitors  impressed  by  the 


158 


sight  of  a  dozen  officers  solemnly  assembled  at  a 
long  table,  clad  in  the  full  uniform  of  their  rank. 
It  was  also  a  matter  of  no  little  wonderment  to 
certain  civil  lawyers  enjoying  a  vacation,  who 
looked  upon  the  slow,  cumbrous  proceedings  with 
sentiments  of  mingled  mirth  and  derision. 

Our  good  Uncle  Sam,  when  first  starting  his 
army  a  century  ago,  copied  the  pompous  methods 
of  the  soldiers  of  King  George  as  set  forth  in 
the  Mutiny  Act,  and  there  had  been  hardly  any 
change  in  all  these  years.  Lieutenant  Breeze,  a 
lively  young  officer,  was  judge -advocate  of  the 
court,  and  appeared  to  be  the  only  man  who  had 
a. word  to  say  in  the  premises.  Counsel,  unlike 
those  in  civil  courts,  rarely  opened  their  mouths. 
Questions  they  desired  to  ask  were  reduced  to 
writing  and  propounded  by  the  judge -advocate. 
Answers  were  similarly  taken  down.  The  court 
had  been  in  session  only  an  hour  over  the  year 
lings'  cases  when  they  sent  for  Mr.  Jennings. 
Presently  Graham  and  others,  returning  to  camp 
from  dancing-lesson,  were  hailed  by  the  officer  of 
the  guard. 

"  You  are  wanted  at  once  at  the  court-room ; 
so  is  that  Major-General  tent-mate  of  yours.  Get 
ready  as  quick  as  you  can,  Mr.  Graham.  Full 
dress,  with  side  arms." 

Hastening  to  his  tent,  Graham  found  Benny 
already  there,  and  in  ten  minutes  they  were  on 


159 


their  way.  Benny  was  very  white  and  scared, 
Geordie  silent.  Lieutenant  Breeze  must  have 
been  waiting  for  them.  Graham  was  summoned 
in  at  once.  Many  a  time  he  had  seen  courts- 
martial  out  on  the  frontier,  and  so  went  promptly 
to  the  witness  seat  and  pulled  off  his  right-hand 
glove.  Breeze  wasted  no  time  in  preliminaries. 
He  knew  his  man. 

"  You  swear  the  evidence  you  shall  give  in  the 
case  now  in  hearing  shall  be  the  truth,  the  whole 
truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  so  help  you 
God,"  he  said ;  and  Geordie,  standing  erect  and 
looking  him  in  the  eye,  his  own  hand  uplifted, 
answered, 

"  I  do." 

"  He'd  tell  it  anyhow,"  whispered  a  New  York 
lawyer  to  a  friend.  "  That  boy  couldn't  lie  if  he 
tried." 

While  the  judge-advocate  was  pencilling  a  few 
loose  slips  of  paper,  Geordie  glanced  around  him. 
The  sides  of  the  room  were  well  filled  with  spec 
tators,  ladies  and  gentlemen  visiting  the  neigh 
borhood,  and  curious  to  see  a  military  court  in 
session.  Major  Eawlins,  of  the  Engineers,  was 
president,  while  two  captains  and  eight  lieuten 
ants  made  up  the  court.  To  the  left  of  the  judge- 
advocate,  at  a  little  table,  sat  Mr.  Jennings  with 
his  counsel.  Geordie  took  the  chair  to  Breeze's 
right,  pulled  on  his  glove  again,  adjusted  his  bay- 


160 


onet-scabbard,  and  sat  erect.  The  first  two  ques 
tions  were  as  to  his  name,  and  whether  he  knew 
the  accused.  Then  he  was  told  to  give,  in  his  own 
words,  the  facts  connected  with  the  disappearance 
of  his  rifle.  Few  boys  could  have  told  the  story 
more  tersely. 

"  What  was  the  number  of  the  new  rifle  ?" 
asked  the  judge -advocate,  and  Geordie  gave  it. 
Had  he  recognized,  by  voice  or  in  any  way,  any 
of  his  assailants  ?  Not  one.  Had  he  been  able 
to  ascertain  how  the  rifle  was  taken, or  by  whom? 
He  had  not.  Was  there  no  one  of  his  tent-mates 
left  at  the  tent  the  evening  the  exchange  was 
made?  None  -that  he  knew  of.  Where  was 
Cadet  Frazier  that  evening?  Geordie  didn't 
know ;  he  did  not  see  him  until  bedtime.  Mr. 
Jennings  was  asked  if  he  desired  to  question  the 
witness,  and  wisely  refrained. 

Certain  members  of  the  court  looked  as  though 
they  might  elicit  something;  but  when  the  judge- 
advocate  said,  in  response  to  a  whispered  query, 
"  I  have  all  that  from  another  witness ;  this  one 
knows  nothing  about  it,"  the  court  subsided  and 
concluded  to  wait. 

Even  as  Geordie  was  wondering  if  Mr.  Breeze 
meant  Frazier,  and  what  Frazier  could  possibly 
know,  the  brief  evidence  he  had  given  was  read 
over  to  him,  and  he  was  told  he  could  return  to 
camp.  The  judge  -  advocate  accompanied  him 


161 


to  the  door,  and  Geordie  heard  him  say  to  the 
orderly : 

"  I  want  that  drummer  Doyle  at  once.  Why 
is  he  not  here  ?" 

"  We  can't  find  him,  sir,  anywhere,"  was  the 
answer. 

"Well,  go  again,  and  tell  the  drum-major  to 
have  him  hunted  up.  He  had  no  business  to  let 
him  away  from  barracks." 

As  Geordie  started  out  into  the  open  air,  he 
caught  sight  of  Benny's  woe-begone  face.  What 
could  have  happened  to  him  ? 

"  Detained  as  a  witness  before  the  court-mar 
tial,"  said  the  officer  of  the  day  to  whom  Frazier 
was  reported  absent  at  dinner  roll-call ;  but  Pops 
found  him  lying  on  his  bedding  when  they  got 
back  to  camp.  He  didn't  want  to  talk,  he  said ;  his 
head  was  aching.  He  was  all  upset  about  some 
thing,  that  was  evident.  No,  he  didn't  want  any 
dinner.  Jennings  and  his  counsel  had  joined  the 
battalion  at  the  mess-hall  with  unimpaired  appe 
tites  and  confident  mien.  The  plebe  it  was  who 
seemed  all  gone  to  pieces.  By  parade-time  a 
strange  story  had  come  into  the  camp  by  way  of 
the  visitors'  tent.  Court  had  adjourned  until  the 
witness  Doyle  could  be  found,  and  Mr.  Frazier, 
whose  testimony  it  was  supposed  would  mate 
rially  harm  the  accused,  had  not  harmed  his 

case  at  all.     In  brief,  Frazier,  acting  under  in- 
11 


162 


structions  evidently,  tremblingly  admitted  that 
he  was  aware  of  some  joke  being  played  on  his 
tent -mate  that  night,  but  refused  to  answer 
questions  on  the  ground  that  answers  might  in 
criminate  himself.  The  sensation  among  the 
plebes  was  tremendous.  Everybody  jumped  to 
one  conclusion — Frazier  must  have  taken  part 
in  "  the  robbery,"  as  they  now  began  to  call  it. 

But  Mr.  Koss  came  to  the  rescue.  "  Wait  un 
til  you  hear  the  whole  story,"  he  said.  "  It 
can't  be  told  now,  but  will  be  when  the  excite 
ment  has  died  away  and  it  is  safe  to  tell  it." 

And  so  the  youngsters  had  to  wait.  Connell 
and  Foster  seemed  to  shrink  from  their  class 
mate  instinctively.  It  was  Graham  who  simply 
would  not  believe  that  ill  of  him. 

"  I  can't  tell  as  yet.  I've  given  my  word  to 
Ross  and  Jennings,"  said  Benny,  with  a  wail  in 
his  voice.  "  Don't  go  back  on  me,  Graham,  and 
you'll  never  regret  it."  And,  taking  the  side  of 
"  the  under  dog  in  the  fight,"  Geordie  held  out 
his  hand. 

The  28th  came,  and  still  no  tidings  of  the  miss 
ing  witness.  Doyle,  the  drummer,  had  vanished, 
and  no  one  knew  whither.  The  furlough -men 
came  back  at  mid-day,  looking  probably  for  the 
same  tumultuous  greeting  that  had  been  accord 
ed  their  predecessors  for  years  back  —  a  charge 
of  the  First  and  Third  Classes  from  camp,  and  a 


163 


smashing  of  Derby  hats — but  they  were  mar 
shalled  direct  to  barracks  instead,  and,  completely 
uniformed  and  equipped,  marched  over  to  join 
the  battalion  in  style  most  matter  of  fact.  The 
plebes  spent  the  last  evening  in  camp  listening 
to  the  distant  music  of  the  hop,  and  singing,  re 
citing,  and  dancing  for  the  benefit  of  the  re 
turned  Second  Class  men.  Certain  celebrities  of 
their  number  were,  with  appropriate  ceremonies, 
presented  to  such  Second  Class  men  as  preferred 
"  devilment "  to  dancing,  among  them  "  Corpo 
ral  Pops,  the  coyote  -  killer  of  the  Colorado, 
famous  as  bear -hunter,  scalp -taker,  and  sign- 
talker,"  and  for  the  last  time  Geordie  was  on 
duty  entertaining  old  cadets  until  the  tattoo 
drums,  but  no  one  turned  out  Benny  Frazier.  A 
yearling  will  not  even  have  fun  at  the  expense 
of  a  plebe  whose  conduct  is  considered  shady, 
and  the  belief  in  the  Third  Class  was  general  that 
Frazier,  through  motives  of  jealousy,  had  con 
nived  at  the  "hiving"  of  his  tent-mate's  rifle. 

And  yet  when  Connell  said  to  Graham,  "I  was 
going  to  room  with  Foster,  but  I'd  far  rather 
live  with  you.  Do  you  think  we  can  fix  it  now  ? 
Foster  is  willing  to  live  with  Clawson,"  he  could 
hardly  believe  it  when  Geordie  answered : 

"I've  promised  to  live  with  Frazier,  and  though 
I'd  rather  live  with  you  than  any  man  I  know,  I 
won't  go  back  on  my  promise." 


164 


Geordie  did  not  tell  what  he  might  have  told, 
that  on  the  evening  of  the  27th,  after  a  long 
talk  with  his  father,  who  came  at  noon  and  left 
before  parade,  Frazier  had  almost  pleadingly  said 
to  him :  "  They're  all  down  on  me  now,  Graham, 
and  if  you  turn  from  me  I  won't  have  a  friend 
left  in  the  class.  If  you  and  I  room  together, 
they'll  know  you  don't  believe  me  mean  enough 
to  take  your  gun.  Appearances  are  all  against 
me  simply  because  I  can't  tell  without  involving 
some  poor  fellows  whom  dismissal  would  ruin 
for  life  just  because  they'd  taken  part  in  what 
they  meant  to  be  only  a  joke."  And  Graham 
answered  that  he  meant  to  stand  by  Frazier  until 
the  thing  was  all  cleared  up. 

There  were  plebes  who  came  to  Geordie  and 
told  him  he  was  making  a  mistake.  So  did  Mr. 
Otis,  but  the  latter  went  away  all  the  more  con 
vinced  that  "  Corporal  Pops  "  was  too  pig-headed 
even  for  a  Scot.  It  was  almost  pitiful  to  see  the 
way  Frazier  clung  to  his  companion  now.  It 
looked  to  everybody  as  though  the  boy  were 
jealously  afraid  of  seeing  his  friend  and  pro 
tector,  so  called,  talking  with  anybody  else.  Time 
and  time  again  he  reminded  Pops  of  the  agree 
ment,  until  at  last,  annoyed,  Geordie  turned  sud 
denly  upon  him  and  said  : 

"Look  here,  Frazier,  does  nobody  keep  prom 
ises  where  you  come  from?" 


165 


Then  Benny  concluded  it  was  time  to  hold  his 
peace. 

In  the  presence  of  a  thousand  spectators  on  a 
glorious  August  day,  every  tent  in  camp  went 
down  at  the  tap  of  the  drum,  and  what  an  instant 
before  had  been  a  white-roofed  city  turned  into  a 
bustling  hive  of  gray  coats,  folding,  rolling,  and 
cording  up  the  snowy  canvas.  All  baggage  had 
been  moved  to  barracks  earlier  in  the  day,  and 
now  in  full  ranks,  all  four  classes  present,  the  com 
panies  fell  in,  and  the  corporals,  who  had  served 
all  summer  long  as  sergeants,  stepped  back  into 
the  ranks,  and  the  plebes  gazed  in  silent  awe  upon 
the  grave,  dignified  young  soldier  in  the  white 
cross-belts  and  crimson  sash  who  so  keenly  looked 
them  over  before  reporting  "  All  present,  sir,"  to 
Mr.  Leonard.  The  returned  furlough-men  took 
their  places,  as  became  members  of  the  Second 
Class,  in  the  front  rank.  Certain  yearlings,  mucli 
to  their  disgust,  had  to  fall  back  to  the  rear,  and 
as  far  as  faces  could  be  seen  at  all  any  one  could 
distinguish  which  was  which.  The  boys  who  had 
spent  the  summer  in  camp  were  brown  as  autumn 
berries;  they  who  had  spent  their  summer  at 
home  were  pallid  by  contrast. 

For  the  last  time  in  camp  adjutant's  call  sound 
ed  on  the  color-line,  and  the  band  had  to  take 
station  beyond  the  sentry  on  Number  Two,  in  or 
der  to  leave  room  for  the  re-enforced  battalion. 


166 


"  Guides  posts !"  rang  out  the  adjutant's  com 
mand. 

"  Keep  your  eyes  to  the  front,  plebe,"  ordered 
the  red -sashed  first  sergeant,  returning  to  his 
station  through  the  gap  on  the  right,  when  he 
found  two  Fourth  Class  men  gazing  obliquely  at 
him  in  mingled  awe  and  admiration. 

Clash !  went  the  rifles  into  the  gloved  left 
hands  as  the  battalion  presented  arms  to  Colonel 
Hazzard. 

"  Take  your  post,  sir,"  was  that  eminent  sol 
dier's  response  to  Glenn's  superb  salute.  Back 
to  his  station  on  the  right  fluttered  the  adjutant's 
plumes  as  the  companies  wheeled  into  column, 
tossed  the  light  rifles  to  the  shoulder,  and  then, 
to  the  merriest,  blithest  of  music,  strode  buoyant 
ly  away  in  the  wake  of  the  band,  the  drum-major 
boring  with  his  tasselled  baton  a  hole  through 
the  heart  of  the  crowd. 

Geordie's  pulses  beat  high  with  every  stride. 
Welcome  hard  work,  hard  study,  even  the  long 
gloomy  wintry  wesks  and  months,  for  plebe 
camp  and  palms-of-the-hands-to-the-front  were 
now  things  of  the  past. 

That  night  Glenn  read  the  list  of  sections  to 
which  the  classes  were  assigned.  Great  was  the  im 
portance  of  certain  Fourth  Class  men  designated 
in  orders  as  section  marchers,  and  by  no  means 
inconsiderable  was  the  jealousy  among  their  class- 


167 


mates  inspired  by  this  purely  accidental  and  tem 
porary  gift  of  authority.  The  Fourth  Class  for 
instruction  in  mathematics  was  divided  in  alpha 
betical  order  into  eight  sections,  Cadet  Abbott 
being  detailed  as  marcher  of  the  first,  Dillon  of 
the  second,  Griggs  of  the  third,  Kenney  of  the 
fourth,  and  so  on  down  the  list.  Frazier,  who 
had  been  very  meek  for  several  days,  asked  Gra 
ham  if  he  didn't  think  it  extraordinary  that 
they  should  be  ordered  around  by  a  fellow  like 
Dillon? 

"Why,  I  don't  believe  I've  ever  heard  him 
speak  ten  words.  What  makes  them  put  such 
galoots  in  command  of  sections  when  there's 
others,  like  you,  for  instance,  that  know  how  to 
handle 'em?" 

Pops  grinned.  He  understood  what  Benny 
was  thinking  of. 

"It's  all  part  and  parcel  of  the  system  of  teach 
ing  fellows  like  me,  as  you  put  it,  that  obedience 
is  the  first  thing  we  have  to  learn,"  said  he, 
good-naturedly,  and  then  went  busily  on  with 
the  work  of  getting  the  room  in  the  prescribed 
order. 

As  plebes  they  had  enjoyed  only  what  is 
termed  "  Hobson's  choice."  They  could  have 
either  the  top  or  bottom  floor  on  the  north  front 
of  barracks — the  cold,  sunless  front — and  so  they 
found  themselves  in  the  third  division,  or,  as  it 


168 


was  technically  termed,  the  "Third  Div.  Cock 
loft  " ;  that  meant  on  the  top  floor  of  the  third 
division  from  the  east.  It  took  little  time  to  ar 
range  their  household  affairs.  Each  cadet  had 
his  own  alcove  or  bedroom,  separated  one  from 
the  other  by  a  wooden  partition.  On  the  side 
nearest  the  wall  was  a  light  iron  bedstead ;  on 
this  a  single  mattress,  folded  back  during  the 
day,  and  made  down  only  after  tattoo.  Piled  in 
order  on  the  mattress,  folded  edges  to  the  front, 
and  vertical,  were  first  the  sheets,  then  pillows, 
then  blankets  and  "  comfortable."  On  iron  hooks 
in  the  partition,  each  in  his  own  alcove,  and  in 
the  following  order  from  front  to  rear,  the  boys 
hung  their  overcoats,  rubber  coats  (once  called 
the  "  plebeskins  "),  the  uniform  coats,  gray  jack 
ets,  gray  trousers,  "such  underclothing  as  may 
be  allowed,"  and  at  the  rearmost  end  the  clothes- 
bag  for  soiled  clothing.  Against  the  front  post 
of  the  partition  was  the  little  wooden  wash-stand, 
a  bucket  of  water,  with  cocoa-nut  dipper,  on  the 
bottom  shelf  the  white  washbowl,  inverted,  with 
soap-dish,  etc.,  on  top ;  a  slop-bucket  on  the  side 
opposite  the  hall ;  a  little  mirror  in  the  middle  of 
the  mantel-shelf ;  rifles  in  the  rack  near  window  ; 
dress  hats  on  the  shelf  thereof ;  accoutrements  and 
forage-caps  hung  on  the  pegs  to  the  right  and 
left  of  the  rack;  candle-box  in  the  fireplace  (which 
was  neatly  whitewashed) ;  nothing  on  the  steam 


coil  or  heater ;  all  other  clothing  in  the  open-faced 
set  of  shelves  termed  the  clothes-press ;  brushes, 
combs,  shaving  materials,  collars,  cuffs,  handker 
chiefs,  belts,  and  gloves,  each  folded  or  stacked  in 
separate  piles  on  the  upper  shelf;  shirts,  etc.,  on 
the  next  below ;  white  trousers,  underclothing, 
etc.,  on  the  lowermost,  and  nothing  under  it ;  text 
books  on  the  top  of  the  press  against  the  wall, 
upright,  and  backs  to  the  front ;  broom  behind  the 
door ;  chairs,  when  not  in  use,  against  the  table ; 
table  against  the  wall  opposite  the  fireplace ;  shoes 
aligned  at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  toes  to  the  front, 
and  always  to  be  kept  neatly  dusted ;  "  clocks, 
pictures,  statuettes,  etc.,  not  allowed." 

Everything  was  kept  in  spick-span  order,  and 
the  orderly  board,  giving  the  name  of  the  cadet 
responsible  for  the  general  appearance  of  things 
during  the  week,  hung  on  the  pillar  of  the  alcove 
partition.  Each  cadet  posted  his  own  name  in 
plain  block  letters  over  the  alcove,  over  his  half 
of  the  clothes-press,  over  his  equipments,  etc.,  and 
on  the  back  of  the  door  his  "  hours  of  recitations," 
to  account  for  his  absence  from  the  room  at  any 
inspection.  For  half  an  hour  after  breakfast,  din 
ner,  or  supper,  and  on  Saturday  afternoons,  ca 
dets  could  visit  in  barracks,  or  go  from  room  to 
room.  At  any  other  time  and  during  call  to 
quarters,  day  or  night,  visiting,  even  to  the  ex 
tent  of  opening  and  looking  in  one's  next  door 


170 


neighbor's  door,  was  punishable  by  demerit  and 
confinement. 

When  little  Dillon  came  around  to  give  out  the 
first  lesson  in  algebra,  as  received  from  their  sec 
tion  instructor,  Lieutenant  Barnes,  Pops  was  all 
attention,  and  carefully  noted  it  in  his  new  alge 
bra.  Benny  wanted  to  chaff  Mr.  Dillon  b}^  ask 
ing  him  if  he  supposed  he  could  march  a  squad 
as  far  as  the  Academic,  and  was  suddenly  re 
minded  of  his  uncertain  status  by  being  curtly 
told  to  mind  his  own  business.  In  ten  minutes 
Pops  was  deep  in  his  work,  but  Frazier,  giving 
a  sniff  of  contempt  on  glancing  over  the  pages, 
tossed  his  text -book  on  the  table,  went  to  the 
window  and,  strumming  on  the  glass,  gazed  long 
and  wearily  out  upon  the  starlit  sky.  This  being 
a  West  Point  cadet  wasn't  what  it  was  repre 
sented  to  be  by  a  good  deal. 


CHAPTER  XI 

MID  -  SEPTEMBER  came,  and  with  it  certain 
changes.  The  court-martial  which  had  been  in 
session  during  the  latter  part  of  camp  stood  ad 
journed,  awaiting  the  call  of  its  president.  It 
was  understood  that,  owing  to  the  unaccountable 
disappearance  of  a  material  witness,  the  case  of 
Cadet  Jennings  could  not  be  pressed.  Musician 
Doyle  had  totally  vanished,  no  man  could  tell 
whither.  He  had  left  his  "kit"  and  his  few  be 
longings  at  the  barracks  down  in  Camptown, 
and  had  taken  with  him  only  the  clothes  he  had 
on,  said  the  drum-major.  Some  people  thought 
he  was  drowned,  but  most  believed  that  he  had 
deserted.  He  was  last  seen  at  the  Falls  the 
night  before  the  convening  of  the  court.  In  the 
meantime,  Mr.  Jennings  remained  in  arrest  with 
extended  limits,  which  meant  that  he  had  the 
privilege  of  exercising  in  the  gymnasium  and 
walking  the  area,  but  could  enter  no  division  in 
barracks  other  than  his  own.  The  two  yearlings 
tried  at  the  same  time  with  him  were  quietly 
summoned  to  the  office  of  the  commandant  one 
day  and  told  to  pack  their  trunks.  They  were 


172 


out  of  uniform  and  off  the  Point  before  the  order 
of  the  War  Department  was  read  that  evening 
at  parade  dismissing  them  from  the  service. 
Benny  Frazier  was  recovering  his  self-confident 
manner,  and  rapidly  losing  the  meekness  of  spirit 
displayed  during  his  troublous  days  the  last  week 
in  camp,  and  Pops  was  losing  something  of  his 
splendid  brown  color,  and  not  a  few  hours  of  sleep. 
In  very  truth  Geordie's  hard  times  were  at 
hand.  He  was  not  a  natural  mathematician,  and 
the  lessons  in  algebra,  so  carelessly  conned  and 
tossed  aside  by  his  gifted  room-mate,  were  prov 
ing  long  and  hard  to  our  young  trooper.  Bar 
rack  life  differed  very  materially  from  that  of 
camp.  Reveille  came  at  the  same  hour,  the  gun 
and  the  drums  letting  drive  together  at  the  first 
stroke  of  5 ;  the  drummers  came  marching  in 
across  the  Plain  and  through  the  resounding 
sally-port,  then  rattled  and  banged  a  moment, 
one  in  each  hallway,  then  reunited  in  the  area, 
and  by  5.10  the  whole  corps  would  be  jumped 
into  ranks  at  the  brisk  assembly,  about  one- 
fourth  of  their  number  rushing  out  only  at  the 
last  instant.  Then  came  the  rapid  roll-call,  the 
few  moments  of  sweeping  and  dusting  before  po 
lice  inspection,  the  brief  soldier  toilet,  the  march 
to  breakfast,  etc.  There  was  time  for  study  be 
fore  the  first  recitation  for  all  those  studiously  dis 
posed — which  most  of  the  corps  had  to  be — and 


173 


then  at  T.55  the  bugle  summoned  one-half  the  en 
tire  battalion  to  recitation — the  First  Class  to  en 
gineering,  the  Second  to  mechanics,  the  Third  to 
analytical  geometry,  and  the  Fourth  to  algebra ; 
the  highest  sections  in  each  reciting,  as  a  rule, 
first  hour,  and  the  first  hour  at  "West  Point  meant 
just  half  an  hour  longer  than  it  does  anywhere 
else.  The  sections  began  recitation  by  8.5,  and 
were  recalled  by  the  bugle  at  9.30,  at  which  time 
the  other  half  of  the  battalion  was  formed  and 
marched,  each  section  by  its  own  marcher,  to  the 
rooms  vacated  by  the  upper  half  of  the  class. 

One  word  now  about  West  Point  recitations. 
The  section-rooms  were  severity  itself  in  their 
furniture,  which  consisted  only  of  blackboards 
or  slates  on  three  sides  of  each  room,  two  long 
benches,  one  on  each  side,  a  wooden  desk  and 
chair  on  a  little  wooden  dais  between  the  win 
dows  for  the  instructor.  There  used  to  be  a 
stove  in  the  centre,  in  case  of  mishap  to  the 
steam  supply,  and  that  was  all,  unless  chalk, 
pointers,  and  erasers  were  counted.  In  soldierly 
silence  the  section  marched  to  the  door,  hung 
their  caps  on  pegs  outside,  went  to  their  places, 
stood  attention,  facing  inwards,  while  the  march 
er  reported,  "All  are  present,  sir,"  then  took 
their  seats.  On  the  slate  back  of  the  instructor 
were  written  the  page  and  paragraph  to  which 
next  day's  lesson  extended,  and  it  was  each  ca- 


174 


det's  business  to  note  it.  No  time  was  lost.  The 
instructor,  a  lieutenant  especially  distinguished 
for  scholarship  while  a  cadet,  called  up  his  pu 
pils  one  after  another,  giving  to  the  first  four 
demonstrations  to  work  out  on  the  front  boards 
from  the  lesson  of  the  day.  The  next  four  were 
sent  to  the  side  boards  with  problems  on  lead 
ing  points  in  the  lesson  of  the  previous  day, 
and  the  ninth  man  "jumped"  to  the  floor  and 
was  put  through  a  cross  -  examination  in  some 
subject  under  discussion  that  was  intended  to 
thoroughly  sound  the  depth  of  his  knowledge. 
Each  cadet  on  being  called  stepped  to  the  centre 
of  the  floor,  "  stood  attention,"  facing  the  in 
structor,  received  his  enunciation,  faced  about, 
went  to  the  board,  wrote  his  name  and  the  order 
in  which  he  was  called  up  (that  is,  first,  second, 
or  third)  in  the  upper  right-hand  corner,  then 
went  to  work.  No  communication  of  any  kind 
was  allowed.  As  soon  as  his  work  was  finished 
the  cadet  faced  about,  stood  at  ease  until  called 
upon  to  recite,  then,  pointer  in  hand,  he  began: 
"  I  am  required  to  discuss  the  Problem  of  the 
Lights,"  or  "  I  am  required  to  deduce  a  rule  for 
such  and  such  a  purpose,"  or,  generally,  whatso 
ever  his  task  might  be.  Then  he  proceeded  in 
his  own  words  to  do  it. 

All  this  time  the  instructor  sat  quietly  listen 
ing  and  mentally  criticising.     The  whole  idea  of 


175 


the  West  Point  system  is  that  the  reciting  cadet 
becomes  for  the  time  being  the  instructor,  en 
deavoring  to  explain  the  subject  to  somebody 
who  knows  nothing  at  all  of  the  matter.  Then 
comes  the  instructor's  turn.  If  the  recitation 
has  been  full,  every  point  fairly,  squarely  met 
and  covered,  not  a  jot  or  tittle  requiring  further 
elucidation,  the  instructor  generally  says,  "  Very 
well,  sir,  that  '11  do,"  and  the  young  gentleman 
goes  to  his  seat  sure  of  a  "  max.,"  or  "  3,"  on  the 
weekly  list.  If  the  instructor  has  to  ask  a  ques 
tion  or  two  in  order  to  establish  the  pupil's  thor 
ough  knowledge,  2.9  or  2.8  may  result ;  2.5  is 
really  a  good  mark  ;  2  is  fair ;  1.5  what  would  be 
called  afair  to  middling"  on  'Change;  1  is  only 
tolerable,  and  zero  a  flat  and  utter  failure,  or  its 
equivalent,  a  statement  that  the  cadet  doesn't 
"  know  enough  about  it  to  attempt  a  recita 
tion."  Many  a  cadet  has  taken  zero  and  a  re 
port  for  neglect  of  studies  rather  than  make  a 
bungling  performance,  but  the  instructors  are 
ordinarily  men  of  such  mould  that  they  soon  get 
to  gauge  their  pupils  thoroughly,  and  instead  of 
letting  a  young  fellow  doom  himself  to  failure, 
they  patiently  question,  "draw  him  out,"  and 
there  demonstrate  that  he  knows  not  a  little  of 
the  subject,  and  mark  him  accordingly.  Kecita- 
tions  go  on  every  morning  in  the  week,  Sundays 
alone  excepted. 


176 


The  West-Pointer  has  only  one  half-holiday, 
and  that  Saturday  afternoon,  and  then  only 
those  whose  conduct  has  been  up  to  the  mark 
can  enjoy  it — confinement  to  quarters,  or  "  walk 
ing  punishment  tour,"  being  the  fate  of  many 
a  boy  regularly  as  the  day  comes  round.  And 
so  by  Saturday  the  cadet  has  recited  five,  or 
possibly  six,  times  in  the  morning  recitations, 
and  on  Monday  the  class  reports  are  published, 
showing  the  exact  standing  in  every  study  of 
every  man  in  the  corps.  It  is  comical  some 
times  at  the  start  to  see  how  the  plebes  attempt 
to  work  off  the  time -honored  excuses  of  the 
school-boy.  They  are  worthless  at  the  Point. 
Even  if  he  were  really  so  ill  he  could  not  study, 
the  cadet  cannot  be  excused  by  the  instructor. 
The  young  gentleman  has  to  go  to  his  first  ser 
geant  at  reveille,  ask  to  have  his  name  put  on 
the  sick-book ;  then  when  sick-call  sounds  he  is 
marched  down  to  the  hospital  and  states  his 
case  to  the  doctor,  who  can  order  him  into  hos 
pital  if  the  matter  be  at  all  serious,  or  prescribe 
some  remedy,  and  mark  him  excused  from  first 
recitation,  from  drill,  or  whatever  may  be  neces 
sary.  Now  anywhere  else  that  would  mean 
"  excused  from  attending  recitation,"  but  not  at 
West  Point.  Unless  actually  in  hospital  and 
under  medical  care  the  cadet  must  go  to  the 
recitation  -  room  with  his  class,  there  report  to 


177 


the  instructor,  "  I  am  excused  from  reciting,  sir." 
The  fact  is  noted  on  the  record  for  the  day,  and, 
taking  his  seat,  the  cadet  follows  his  comrades' 
work  as  best  he  may, 

While  one -half  the  corps  is  at  recitation,  the 
other  half,  each  cadet  in  his  own  room,  is  re 
quired  to  be  at  study;  no  visiting  is  allowed. 
At  11  the  heavier  recitations  are  over  for  the 
day.  From  this  hour  on  the  time  given  to  each 
is  only  about  fifty-five  minutes  in  the  section- 
room.  At  12.55  the  first  drum  beats  for  din 
ner.  All  sections  are  then  dismissed;  books 
are  hurriedly  returned  to  rooms,  and  by  1 .5,  in 
solid  ranks,  the  battalion  is  marching  down  to 
Grant  Hall.  From  the  time  they  get  back  to 
barracks  —  about  1.35  —  until  the  bugle  again 
sounds  at  2,  is  release  from  quarters.  At  2, 
recitations  begin  again.  Law,  languages,  draw 
ing,  drill  regulations,  or  something  of  that  char 
acter,  take  up  the  afternoon  until  4,  then  all 
are  marched  (and  it  is  march,  march  all  the 
time)  to  barracks,  where  they  have  five  minutes 
in  which  to  get  ready  for  afternoon  drill.  In 
September  the  school  of  the  battalion  is  the  pre 
scribed  exercise,  followed  by  parade  at  sunset, 
these  giving  way  in  October,  as  the  days  become 
shorter,  to  artillery  drills  at  the  various  batter 
ies.  Supper  comes  after  parade,  and  evening 
"  call  to  quarters ;"  study  hour,  thirty  minutes 


12 


178 


after  the  return  of  the  battalion  from  supper. 
Study  goes  on  until  tattoo,  which,  when  Pops 
was  at  the  Point,  was  sounded  at  9.30,  followed 
by  taps  at  10.  Each  cadet  was  expected  to 
make  down  his  bedding  for  the  night  at  tat 
too,  and  to  be  in  bed,  undressed,  and  with  his 
light  extinguished  when  the  drum  sounded  at  10 
o'clock.  Officers  of  the  First  Class  and  cadet 
staff  and  first  sergeants  of  the  Second  Class  were 
the  exceptions.  These  were  permitted  lights  un 
til  11,  the  cadet  officers  being  assigned  to  duty 
all  over  barracks  as  inspectors  of  sub-divisions, 
each  one  having  two  floors,  or  eight  rooms,  un 
der  his  control,  and  these  he  was  to  inspect  at 
morning  police  call  and  at  taps. 

What  with  turning  out  at  5  A.M.  and  study 
ing,  reciting,  exercising  in  the  gymnasium  or  on 
drill,  the  plebes,  at  least,  were  ready  to  go  to  bed 
at  9.30 ;  some  found  it  impossible  to  keep  awake 
until  then. 

Such  being  the  general  programme,  let  us  see 
how  it  applied  to  Geordie  and  Frazier.  The  for 
mer  was  fidelity  itself  in  his  desire  to  observe 
regulations  and  perform  his  duty.  Benny,  eager 
and  enthusiastic  at  first,  was  rapidly  developing 
traits  that  proved  him  to  be  just  the  reverse. 
Week  and  week  about  each  became  responsible 
for  the  condition  of  the  room,  his  name  being 
posted  as  orderly.  They  were  in  the  subdivision 


179 


of  Cadet  Lieutenant  Webb,  the  first  officer  to  in 
spect  their  room,  each  day.  Later  came  the  in 
spections  made  by  the  cadet  officer  of  the  day, 
and,  almost  invariably,  morning  and  evening,  a 
visit  from  Lieutenant  Allen,  the  commandant 
of  Company  B  (or  "the  B  Company  tack,"  as 
termed  in  the  corps).  If  at  any  one  of  these  in 
spections  anything  was  found  amiss — chairs  or 
broom,  caps  or  accoutrements,  washbowl  or 
buckets  or  books  out  of  place,  dust  on  mantel  or 
dirt  on  floor — the  inspector  never  stopped  to  ask 
who  was  at  fault ;  he  simply  glanced  at  the  or 
derly-board  to  see  who  was  responsible,  and 
down  went  that  gentleman  on  the  delinquency 
book,  and  that  meant  —  unless  the  report  were 
removed — so  many  demerit  and  so  much  light 
punishment. 

Pops  found  no  trouble  in  keeping  himself  and 
his  room  in  order,  but  he  couldn't  keep  Benny. 
Before  the  25th  of  September,  "  Graham,  order 
ly,"  had  been  reported  four  times  for  things  he 
really  could  not  help,  and  all  due  to  Benny's 
careless  habits.  Once  it  was  washbowl  not  in 
verted,  another  time  broom  out  of  place,  and 
twice  chairs  out  of  place.  Benny,  the  last  one 
to  use  these  items  during  his  room-mate's  ab 
sence,  had  left  them  as  found  by  the  inspector. 
Pops  remonstrated,  gently  at  first,  but  after 
wards  sternly,  and  Frazier  either  sulked  or  else 


180 


swore  he  left  everything  all  right ;  "  somebody 
must  have  come  in  and  upset  them." 

This  was  bad  enough,  but  worse  was  to  follow. 
Before  the  end  of  the  month,  every  Saturday 
evening  at  parade,  the  adjutant  was  busily  read 
ing  "  transfer  orders,"  principally  in  the  Fourth 
Class.  Fluent  in  recitation.  Benny  Frazier  had 
made  a  brilliant  start.  This  part  of  mathemat 
ics  he  had  been  over  time  and  again,  and  he  was 
transferred  to  the  first  section  at  the  first  order. 
At  the  second  order,  along  about  the  20th,  poor 
Geordie  heard  with  heavy  heart  his  own  name 
read  out  for  transfer,  not  up,  but  down.  "  Ca 
det  Graham  to  the  fourth  section."  He  had 
worked  hard,  very  hard.  He  studied  faithfully 
every  possible  moment,  while  Benny  was  list 
lessly  yawning,  dozing,  or  scribbling.  A  few 
minutes  conning  over  the  familiar  pages  put 
him  at  his  ease  as  to  the  lesson  of  the  morrow, 
while  Graham  worked  on  with  reddening  eye 
lids.  Sometimes  the  latter  would  appeal  to  Fra 
zier  to  explain  points  that  were  perplexing  to 
him,  and  Benny  at  first  seemed  rather  pleased 
to  do  so,  but  he  was  no  patient  instructor,  and 
not  especially  gifted  in  the  method  of  proving 
why  this  or  that  was  thus  and  so.  He  thought 
Geordie  ought  to  see  it  all  at  a  glance. 

What  with  going  up  to  the  first  section  at  a 
bound  and  believing  himself  on  the  high-road 


ll    WANT   YOU    TO   COME    AND   "WALK    WITH    ME,'    CONNELL    SAID" 


181 


to  the  head  of  the  class,  coupled  with  the  fact 
that  now  there  was  so  very  little  time  given  to 
anything  but  recitation  and  study,  Benny  began 
to  look  upon  himself  as  out  of  the  shadow  and 
into  the  sunshine  of  prosperity  once  more.  Then 
came  an  order  releasing  Mr.  Jennings  from  ar 
rest.  No  case  had  been  established.  The  court 
simply  had  to  acquit  him.  The  rifle  affair  was 
being  forgotten  in  the  press  of  other  matters. 
"  Nothing  succeeds  like  success."  Class-mates 
could  not  but  admire  Frazier's  fluency  in  reci 
tation,  and  Graham,  silent,  reserved,  studying 
day  and  night,  was  not  the  prominent  figure 
in  his  class-mates'  eyes  he  had  been  in  camp. 
Presently  Benny's  manner,  from  having  been 
meek  and  appealing,  began  to  be  patronizing 
and  superior.  Then  as  pride  and  confidence  re 
asserted  themselves  he  began  to  chafe  at  any 
authority  over  him.  The  third  week  in  bar 
racks  Frazier  got  four  reports  as  room  orderly ; 
the  fourth  week  Pops's  name  was  hoisted  to  the 
top  of  the  orderly-board,  and  he  gravely  told 
Benny  he  hoped  he'd  be  careful. 

That  very  evening  after  supper  Conn  ell  took 
Geordie's  arm  and  led  him  out  on  the  Plain. 

"  I  want  you  to  come  and  walk  with  me,  old 
man,"  he  said.  "  You  were  going  to  your  room 
to  <  bone,'  and  I  know  ft.  Pops,  don't  do  that. 
What  time  we  have  to  spend  in  the  open  air 


182 


you  need  to  take  for  no  other  purpose.  You'll 
go  to  your  work  with  a  clearer  head." 

Geordie  protested,  but  he  knew  Connell  was 
right.  Moreover,  letters  had  come  that  very  day 
from  McCrea  and  the  doctor,  both  bidding  him 
feel  no  discouragement  because  he  was  making 
only  an  average  of  less  than  2.5,  "even  if  you 
do  go  down  two  or  three  sections,"  wrote  the 
lieutenant ;  "  and  I  was  scared  badly  because  they 
sent  me  from  the  fifth  down  to  the  sixth,  but  I 
came  out  all  right."  The  doctor,  too,  urged  that 
his  boy  take  heart,  and  bade  him  neglect  no  reg 
ular  out-door  exercise.  A  great  believer  in  fresh 
air  and  sunshine  was  the  doctor.  Still,  Pops 
was  blue.  Connell,  a  Western  lad,  with  only  the 
drilling  of  the  public  schools,  had  managed  to 
cling  to  his  place  in  the  first  section,  and  with 
every  day  was  becoming  more  and  more  at  home 
in  the  methods  of  the  section-room. 

"  Doesn't  Frazier  help  you  ?"  he  asked. 

"Not  much.  He's  generally  busy  reading, 
writing,  or  dozing,  and  he's  impatient  of  my 
stupidity,  I  suppose.  Everything  seems  so  easy 
to  him,"  answered  Pops. 

"  Yes,  I  never  heard  such  finished  recitations. 
<  Old  Scad '  just  sits  there  and  nods  approval,  and 
seldom  asks  a  question."  ("  Old  Scad  "  was  the 
irreverent  title  given  to  a  gray-headed  lieuten 
ant  of  artillery  by  a  previous  class,  and  plebes 


183 


rarely  fail  to  adopt  such  nicknames.)  "  Benny's 
'  maxing '  right  along  just  now,"  continued  Con- 
nell. 

"Do  you  think  he'll  be  head  of  the  class?" 
asked  Pops. 

Connell  pondered  a  moment  before  replying. 
"  He  might,  because  he's  just  as  fluent  in  French  ; 
but  I'll  bet  my  hopes  of  graduation  against  the 
corporal  chevrons  you're  bound  to  wear  next  June 
that  if  he's  head  in  January  he'll  never  get  there 
again." 

"  Why,  Con  ?     What  do  you  mean  ?" 

"  Simply  this :  Frazier  is  a  sort  of  fireworks 
fellow.  He's  going  up  with  a  flash  and  a  roar, 
but  he'll  burn  out  by  the  time  we  get  into  ana 
lytical.  He  isn't  a  stayer.  Mr.  Otis  was  tell 
ing  me  last  night  that  there  were  cases  where 
fellows  who  stood  head  in  the  plebe  January 
dropped  out  of  sight  by  the  end  of  the  third 
year.  As  for  Frazier,  he'll  get  found  on  demer 
it  if  he  isn't  careful.  He's  smoking  cigarettes 
again.  Don't  let  him  light  one  in  the  room." 

"  Oh,  he  doesn't  so  long  as  I  am  there.  Of 
course  if  I  get  reported  as  orderly  for  tobacco 
smoke  in  quarters  he'll  be  man  enough  to  take  it 
off  my  shoulders." 

Connell  was  silent  a  moment,  then  he  spoke : 
"I  don't  want  to  wrong  Frazier,  but  I'm  in 
clined  to  think  that  the  less  you  build  on  his 


184 


doing  the  manly  thing  at  his  own  expense  the 
safer  you'll  be." 

And  that  evening,  as  Geordie  returned  to  his 
room,  all  in  a  glow  from  the  brisk  walk,  he  found 
a  party  of  plebes  just  breaking  up  and  scattering 
to  their  quarters.  Benny  had  been  "  entertain 
ing,"  and  the  air  was  full  of  cigarette  smoke. 
Vigorous  fanning  with  the  door  and  with  tow 
els  swept  much  of  the  smoke  out  through  the 
open  window,  but  the  aroma  of  the  heavy,  drug- 
scented  cloud  hovered  over  the  occupants'  heads. 

"  You  knew  what  would  happen.  How  could 
you  be  so  reckless  of  other  fellows'  rights  ?"  said 
Graham,  angrily. 

Benny  flared  up  at  once.  He  wasn't  going  to 
forbid  gentlemen  smoking  when  they  came  to 
see  him!  There  was  no  danger,  anyhow !  They'd 
fan  out  the  room  before  Allen  could  come,  and 
by  hard  work  they  did.  Mr.  Allen  looked  queer, 
but  said  nothing.  " Didn't  I  tell  you!"  cried 
Benny. 

"  All  the  same,"  answered  Pops,  "  there  must 
be  no  more  of  it  when  I'm  orderly." 

"I'd  like  to  know  how  you'll  stop  it,"  said 
Frazier,  defiantly.  "  You  won't  be  so  mean  as 
to i  skin '  a  room-mate,  and  get '  cut '  by  the  whole 
class  for  doing  it,  will  you  ?" 

Alas  for  Geordie !  Frazier' s  penitence  had  been 
too  short-lived,  his  escape  from  the  toils  in  the 


. ' 


ENFORCED   TRAMP   IN    THE    AREA    ON   SATURDAY    AFTERNOONS 


185 


rifle  case  too  easy,  his  triumph  in  French  and 
mathematics  too  much  for  his  selfish  and  shal 
low  nature.  On  his  own  account,  Graham  had 
not  received  a  report  for  three  weeks ;  on  Fra- 
zier's  he  had  received  five,  and  these  necessitated 
his  writing  explanations  and  wasting  time,  even 
though  the  reports  were  removed.  But  one  even 
ing,  coming  in  just  before  call  to  quarters,  he' 
found  half  a  dozen  of  his  class-mates  sitting  with 
Frazier  and  sharing  his  cigarettes  and  applauding 
his  stories.  Even  after  the  bugle  blew,  they  loi 
tered  about  going.  Under  the  strict  construction 
of  the  regulations  of  the  academy  it  was  his  duty 
to  order  the  smoking  stopped  at  once,  and  to  re 
port  every  cadet  engaged  in  it,  but  only  the  cadet 
officer  of  the  day  is  "  on  honor  "  to  report  every 
breach  of  regulations  coming  under  his  notice. 
That  night,  in  the  midst  of  his  frantic  efforts  to 
fan  out  the  smoke,  in  came  Lieutenant  Allen. 
The  next  evening  the  report  was  read  out,  "  Gra 
ham,  orderly,  tobacco  smoke  in  quarters  7,  7.30 
P.M."  "  I've  simply  got  to  take  the  punishment," 
said  Geordie,  "  because  I  did  not  stop  it  the  in 
stant  I  got  in."  And  when  Connell  and  others 
took  it  upon  themselves  to  tell  Frazier  he  ought 
to  go  to  the  commandant  and  assume  the  respon 
sibility,  that  young  gentleman  replied,  "  You  must 
be  sick !  I  was  only  one  of  the  lot ;  'tisn't  as 
though  I  did  it  all  alone." 


186 


But  Foster  was  one  of  the  party,  and  Duncan 
another.  These  two  boys  marched  up  to  Colonel 
Hazzard  two  days  later  and  declared  themselves 
the  smokers,  and  begged  that  Graham  be  re 
lieved;  but  Graham,  as  ill-luck  would  have  it, 
had  already  been  sent  for  and  asked  what  he 
had  to  say. 

"  Nothing,  sir,"  was  his  answer. 

"  If  it  occurred  in  your  absence,  Mr.  Graham," 
said  the  colonel,  kindly,  "and  you  did  not  see 
the  smokers,  or  if  you  put  a  stop  to  it  the  mo 
ment  you  did — 

But  Geordie  shook  his  head.  And  so  for  six 
consecutive  Saturday  afternoons,  armed  and 
equipped  as  a  sentry,  and  thinking  unutterable 
things  as  he  did  so,  Geordie  Graham  tramped  up 
and  down  the  area  of  cadet  barracks  as  punish 
ment  for  having  permitted  smoking  in  quarters. 
It  carried  him,  in  punishment,  almost  up  to 
Christmas ;  but  there  was  no  lack  of  company. 
Some  afternoons  the  area  was  crowded. 


CHAPTER  XII 

OCTOBER  came  and  went.  The  Highlands  were 
all  aflame  with  the  gorgeous  hue  of  the  autumn 
foliage.  The  mountain  air  was  crisp  and  keen, 
full  of  exhilaration  and  life.  Eegular  hours, 
regulated  exercise,  sound  sleep  were  all  com 
bining  to  bring  about  among  the  plebes  the  very 
"  pink  of  condition."  Letters  from  the  far  fron 
tier,  coming  regularly,  gave  Geordie  comfort  and 
encouragement.  Both  his  father  and  Mr.  Mc- 
Crea  bade  him  be  of  good  cheer,  and  all  would 
come  well.  He  used  to  steal  away  to  a  quiet 
nook  near  Kosciusko's  Garden  to  read  his  moth 
er's  loving  missives  in  those  days,  for  there  was 
little  peace  for  him  at  home.  Benny  was  devel 
oping  A  new  trait  with  an  old  name — "  boning 
popularity,"  it  used  to  be  called.  The  episode 
of  the  cigarettes  had  caused  among  all  thinking 
members  of  the  Fourth  Class  much  unfavorable 
comment  at  Frazier's  expense,  and  he  was  quick 
to  note  the  coldness  and  aversion. 

"  See  here,  Pops,"  said  he,  "  if  you  think  I 
ought  to  go  and  tell  the  commandant  I  was 
smoking,  I'll  do  it ;  but  it  isn't  going  to  help 


188 


you,  that  I  can  see.  It's  all  the  fault  of  these 
brutal  regulations,  making  you  responsible  be 
cause  you  were  too  much  of  a  gentleman  to  come 
in  and  order  that  smoking  stopped  in  your  room 
right  off.  If  my  confessing  my  part  in  it  would 
remove  your  punishment,  I'd  do  it  quick  as  a  cat 
can  jump — but  it  couldn't,  so  what's  the  use  '?" 

Graham  shook  his  head,  and  Frazier  magnified 
that  into  proportions  which  enabled  him  to  say 
to  many  a  class-mate,  "  I  offered  to  go  and  as 
sume  the  whole  responsibility  provided  I  didn't 
have  to  name  the  others,  but  Graham  begged 
me  not  to  do  it." 

And  now,  by  way  of  retaining  his  hold  on  the 
class,  Benny  became  a  lavish  entertainer.  Many 
an  evening  he  would  invite  certain  of  his  cro 
nies  to  come  up  after  supper  and  "bring  the 
crowd,"  as  he  expressed  it.  It  meant  that  an 
other  instalment  of  luxuries  had  been  received. 
It  was  an  easy  matter  for  his  fond  parents  to 
send  box  after  box  of  fruit,  confectionery,  or 
goodies  of  some  kind  to  "  Mr.  Peter  Peterson," 
at  Highland  Falls,  and  for  "Mr.  Peterson"  to 
fetch  them  up  the  back  road  west  of  the  ob 
servatory,  and  down  the  hill  behind  the  bar 
racks,  where,  under  cover  of  darkness,  Benny 
and  his  chums  could  meet  him  and  run  the  "  con 
traband  "  up  to  the  room.  Cadets  were  permitted 
to  receive  an  occasional  box  from  home,  but  not 


189 


in  such  frequency,  or  without  inspection  by  the 
officer  in  charge.  And  so  while  Pops  and  Con- 
nell  and  Ames,  and  other  solid  men  of  the  class, 
were  taking  their  evening  stroll  before  study 
hour,  Benny  and  his  set  were  feasting  and  smok 
ing  in  barracks,  but  smoking  no  more  when 
Graham  was  orderly. 

"  I  don't  mean  to  make  any  trouble  about  this 
case,"  Pops  had  said,  very  quietly,  "  but  I  give 
fair  warning  I  will  take  no  more  demerit  and 
punishment  on  other  men's  account." 

Benny  confided  to  his  fellows  that  Graham 
was  a  close-fisted,  selfish  Scotchy,  as  he  ought 
to  have  had  sense  enough  to  know  he  would  be. 
He  was  sorry  he  had  chosen  him  as  a  tent  and 
room  mate,  but  he  couldn't  leave  him  now,  when 
Graham  so  needed  his  help  in  mathematics,  and 
there  were  not  a  few  who  accepted  his  state 
ment  as  both  plausible  and  probable.  Up  in  the 
first  section,  however,  the  keener  minds  were 
"  getting  on  to  Frazier,"  as  Connell  expressed 
it,  and  along  about  the  middle  of  November  a 
thing  occurred  that  set  them  all  to  thinking. 

By  this  time  the  class  was  hard  at  work  in  a 
more  difficult  and  intricate  part  of  the  text,  and 
the  ground  was  not  so  familiar  to  the  prize  schol 
ar  of  Beanton.  Frazier  had  to  study,  and  he 
didn't  like  it.  Up  to  this  point  his  easy  flow 
of  language  and  his  confident  mien,  coupled  with 


190 


the  thorough  mathematical  drilling  he  had  had 
at  home,  had  stood  him  in  excellent  stead.  He 
was  leading  the  class  at  an  easy  gait,  and  win 
ning  the  highest  mark  without  much  effort.  "  He 
can't  help  being  head  in  French,  too,"  said  his 
friends,  "but  if  he  land  anywhere  in  the  5's, 
he's  sure  of  the  head  of  the  class."  But  about 
this  time  Ames  and  Wheeler  began  to  crowd 
him.  They  were  "  maxing  through,"  while  Ben 
ny  showed  an  occasional  2.9,  2. 8,  and  once  "  Old 
Scad"  had  actually  had  to  cut  off  three-tenths 
from  his  mark.  An  admirable  and  patient  in 
structor,  he  had  one  or  two  defects,  as  have  most 
men.  He  was  a  trifle  deaf,  and  decidedly  un 
suspicious.  An  (honorable  gentleman  himself, 
he  was  unprepared  for  the  faintest  deception  in 
others.  Twice  had  the  section  noted  that  when 
up  on  questions  Frazier  was  taking  advantage  of 
this,  for  when  asked  in  a  tone  which  clearly  in 
dicated  that  the  answer  as  heard  or  understood 
was  an  error,  Benny  had,  in  repeating  the  an 
swer,  changed  his  words  accordingly.  Connell, 
naming  no  names,  asked  Mr.  Otis  and  Mr.  Glenn 
if  this  were  considered  fair.  "  No,  sir ;  emphati 
cally  no,  sir,"  was  the  reply. 

One  Friday  night,  with  a  lesson  for  the  morrow 
that  was  unusually  intricate,  Frazier  sat  chuck 
ling  over  an  amusing  book  he  had  smuggled  into 
barracks,  while  Pops  was  painfully  laboring  at 


191 


his  slate.  Next  morning  at  breakfast  some  one 
asked  Benny  how  he  "  worked  out  the  rule  "  in 
a  certain  case,  and  Benny  laughingly  answered : 

"  I  haven't  even  looked  at  it  yet." 

"  Well,  then,  you'd  better  be  doing  it,"  was  the 
reply. 

Frazier  had  counted  on  the  fact  that  for 
three  days  past  he  had  been  up  at  the  front 
board  on  the  lesson  of  the  day,  and  that  there 
was  no  possibility  of  its  happening  this  Satur 
day  morning.  If  called  up  at  all  it  would  be  on 
the  work  of  the  previous  day.  At  any  rate,  after 
breakfast  would  be  time  enough.  But  so  diffi 
cult  was  the  demonstration,  that  when  he  fell  in 
with  his  section  he  had  not  been  able  to  finish 
it.  That  day  was  signalized  by  many  a  "  cold 
fess"  in  the  lower  sections;  but  they  were  for 
gotten  in  view  of  what  happened  in  the  first. 
Conn  ell  and  Harris  in  succession  had  faced  about 
with  "  clean  boards." 

"  I  can  do  anything  else  in  the  lesson,  sir,  but 
not  that,"  said  the  latter. 

But  "  Scad,"  was  not  appeased.  "This  ought 
not  to  occur  in  the  first  section,"  he  said. 
"That  '11  do."  Then  looking  around,  as  though 
searching  for  some  one  to  do  justice  to  the  sub 
ject,  his  eye  fell  on  Benny.  "  Mr.  Frazier,  take 
that  demonstration." 

And  with  a  cold  chill  darting  up  his  legs  Benny 


192 


went  to  the  board.  It  was  barely  8.30;  there 
was  no  hope  of  stringing  out  his  work  so  as  to 
have  it  unfinished  and  unmarked  when  the  bugle 
sounded.  That  might  do  in  the  fifth  section, 
but  not  in  the  first.  Keeping  up  his  bold,  con 
fident  manner,  he  chalked  briskly  away,  but 
trusting — praying — something  might  happen  to 
help  him  through.  Ames,  at  the  next  board, 
was  deep  in  his  own  problem — a  long,  intricate 
matter.  Nine  o'clock  boomed  from  the  old 
tower,  and  still  these  two  leaders  faced  their 
boards  and  figured  away.  At  last  Benny  could 
see  that  Ames  had  skilfully  and  perfectly  solved 
his  problem,  and  that  in  the  natural  order  of 
things  he  would  be  called  on  to  recite  as  soon  as 
Benton  finished.  Then  would  come  his  turn, 
and  for  the  life  of  him  he  could  not  remember 
an  important  equation,  on  which  everything  de 
pended —  he,  Frazier,  the  cadet  so  confidently 
booked  for  the  head  of  the  class !  Then  Benton 
began  to  stumble,  and  "  Old  Scad  "  went  over  to 
the  board  to  explain.  Ames  finished  his  work, 
laid  aside  his  chalk,  dusted  his  fingers,  gave  a 
downward  pull  to  his  coat  and  an  upward  hitch 
to  his  trousers,  picked  up  the  pointer,  and  was 
about  turning,  when  Frazier's  hand  touched  his 
sleeve.  On  the  board  before  him  Benny  had 
chalked  as  much  of  the  needed  equation  as  he 
remembered,  followed  by  an  interrogation  mark. 


193 


An  appealing  glance  told  what  was  wanted. 
Ames  glanced  anxiously  about  him,  hesitated, 
colored,  then  impatiently  took  up  the  chalk,  and 
while  Scad's  broad  blue  back  was  turned,  rapidly 
wrote  the  missing  links.  Frazier  copied,  nodded 
gratefully,  and  went  on.  The  claimant  for  the 
head  of  the  class  had  sought  and  obtained  and 
availed  himself  of  the  assistance  of  a  rival.  Scad 
neither  saw  nor  suspected.  The  entrance  of  the 
professor  of  mathematics,  making  the  rounds  of 
his  class,  led  to  an  exhaustive  explanation  of 
some  difficult  points  in  the  day's  lesson.  Then 
Ames  began  reciting  on  his  problem,  and  before 
he  finished  the  bugle  recall  came  ringing  through 
the  corridors. 

"  That  '11  do,  Mr.  Ames ;  that  '11  do,  Mr.  Fra 
zier.  Section's  dismissed!"  said  Scad;  and  Ben 
ny  was  saved. 

"  It  may  do  in  the  fifth  section,  by  gum  !  but 
never  in  the  first,"  said  Wheeler  and"  others  that 
evening.  "  If  Frazier  comes  out  head,  it's  fraud, 
and  nothing  less." 

But  Benny  held  that  as  he  didn't  recite  it 
made  no  difference.  Yet  when  Monday  came  it 
was  found  that  he  had  been  marked  3  for  the 
work  which,  had  he  been  cross-examined,  he 
could  have  explained  only  partially,  on  which 
but  for  Ames's  aid  he  would  have  failed  disas 
trously.  Frazier's  mark  for  the  week  was  higher 


13 


194 


than  that  of  the  class-mate  at  whose  expense 
and  personal  risk  Benny  was  saved. 

"  I'd  rather  be  the  foot  of  the  class  with  your 
reputation,  Pops,  than  head  of  the  corps  with 
Frazier's,"  said  Connell,  hotly,  for  Geordie  was 
low  in  his  mind.  He  had  been  given  a  hard 
demonstration  that  very  morning,  had  failed, 
and  now  was  fearful  of  going  down  another 
section. 

And  now,  except  weekly  inspection  and  occa 
sional  guard  duty,  there  were  no  formations 
under  arms.  Drills  were  discontinued.  Study 
hours  were  longer.  So  were  the  lessons.  The 
snow-flurries  became  frequent.  The  dark,  dreary 
winter  days  were  upon  them.  Geordie  took 
his  regular  exercise,  and  was  beginning  to  be 
looked  upon  as  one  of  the  likeliest  athletes  in 
the  class.  The  gymnasium  of  those  days  was 
a  primitive  affair,  but  the  instructor  knew  his 
business,  and  taught  it.  All  the  plebes  began  to 
look  forward  with  eagerness  or  apprehension  to 
the  midwinter  turning-point — the  January  ex 
amination.  Once  more,  finding  himself  losing 
ground  with  his  class,  Benny  was  devoting  him 
self  to  Pops.  There  is  nothing  more  ephemeral 
than  popularity,  and  no  place  were  it  counts  for 
so  little  as  West  Point.  Plebe  leaders  and  idols 
sometimes  hold  their  sway  beyond  the  winter 
solstice,  but  rarely  last  till  June.  Then,  little 


195 


by  little,  men  who  were  hardly  noticed  at  the 
start  begin  to  come  forging  to  the  front  with 
the  backing  of  solid  respect,  and  these  are  the 
"  stayers."  "When  December  came  many  a  plebe 
had  far  more  jovial  greeting  for  Benny  than  for 
his  grave,  reticent  room-mate.  But  the  "  solid 
men  "  of  the  class — fellows  like  Ames  and  Con- 
nell,  Benton  and  Ladd  and  Wheeler — sought  the 
latter  more  and  more  with  each  succeeding  day. 
At  last  came  the  January  examination.  Geor- 
die  had  been  holding  his  own  at  moderate  aver 
age  marks  for  nearly  a  month,  and  knew  that  he 
was  reasonably  safe.  Still,  a  bungling  perform 
ance  would  be  sure  to  throw  him  far  down  in  the 
class,  even  though  it  did  not  throw  him  entirely 
out.  He  had  been  faithful,  steadfast,  systematic, 
and  his  honest  work  was  beginning  to  tell.  There 
was  mad  excitement  in  the  class  over  the  publi 
cation  of  the  rolls.  The  result  as  to  the  head  of 
the  class  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  Warned 
by  his  narrow  escape  in  November,  Frazier  had 
"  turned  to"  and  really  studied  for  several  weeks, 
during  which  time  his  performance  was  brilliant, 
and  even  those  of  his  class-mates  who  neither 
trusted  nor  respected  him  were  forced  to  admit 
that,  so  long  as  he  chose  to  work  and  leave  noth 
ing  to  chance,  he  could  take  the  lead  and  keep 
it.  "But  wait  till  next  year,  and  he's  beyond 
his  depth  in  calculus,"  said  upper  class  men. 


196 


One  clear,  cold  evening  in  January  Mr.  Glenn's 
voice  was  taxed  to  the  utmost.  For  nearly  forty 
minutes,  with  the  long  line  of  motionless  gray 
overcoats  for  an  audience,  he  read  through  sheet 
after  sheet,  page  after  page,  of  class  standing  in 
all  manner  of  subjects.  Our  interests  are  only 
with  the  plebes.  Despite  lapses  in  discipline, 
Cadet  Frazier  led  the  Fourth  Class  in  general 
standing.  Some  eighteen  young  fellows  at  the 
opposite  end  were  declared  deficient  and  dis 
charged,  and  Geordie  Graham  found  himself  No. 
38  out  of  79  examined  and  passed.  It  was  really 
better  than  he  had  hoped. 

Then  began  the  long  pull  for  June.  Each  day 
the  sun  rose  earlier  and  stayed  up  longer.  Geordie 
plodded  on  at  his  books  steadily  as  ever,  cheered 
by  the  glad  letters  from  home,  and  taking  com 
fort  in  the  growing  friendship  of  such  fellows  as 
Connell  and  Ames.  Benny,  elated  with  easy  vic 
tory,  had  relapsed  into  his  careless,  defiant  ways. 
.Reports  were  frequent ;  explanations  ditto.  Ku- 
mors  of  allegations  against  reporting  officers  and 
assertions  of  innocence  on  Frazier's  part  "more 
ingenious  than  ingenuous  "  were  again  afloat.  By 
the  time  March  was  ushered  in  his  array  of  de 
merit,  despite  his  explanations,  was  such  that 
Geordie  felt  concerned,  and  gravely  remonstrat 
ed.  Frazier,  ever  intolerant  of  advice  from  any 
body,  resented  Pops's  interference.  "  It's  all  the 


197 


fault  of  such  outrageous  rules  and  spying  offi 
cers,"  said  he.  Already  the  plebes  were  eagerly 
canvassing  the  prospects  for  chevrons  in  June. 
Eumors  of  all  kinds  were  afloat.  The  faintest 
hint  dropped  from  the  lips  of  such  magnates  as 
the  cadet  captains  or  adjutant  went  from  mouth 
to  mouth  like  wildfire,  growing  as  they  flew. 
"  Connell,  Forbes,  Ames,  and  Pops  were  sure  of 
chevrons,"  said  the  boys.  Indeed,  Pops  was  get 
ting  rid  of  that  part  of  his  name  now,  and  being 
jocularly  hailed  on  all  sides  as  "  corporal "  ;  but 
the  finest  officer  of  the  Beanton  Battalion  was 
not  so  much  as  mentioned  in  cadet  prophecies. 
Of  course,  they  might  have  to  make  the  head  of 
the  class  something,  but  he  had  a  good  many 
demerit,  and,  what  was  more,  was  by  no  means 
certain  of  the  head  of  the  class  again.  He  made 
beautiful  figures  in  geometry  and  trigonometry 
and  beautiful  translations  in  French.  He  was 
"way  up"  in  conversation,  but  he  slipped  occa 
sionally  in  conjugation  and  grammar.  The  most 
fluent  and  easy  speaker  of  the  French  tongue, 
Benny's  mark  was  already  lower  than  those  of 
two  young  gentlemen  who  had  never  been  abroad 
at  all. 

Then  came  another  matter  that  showed  the 
drift  of  public  sentiment.  A  time -honored  cus 
tom  was  the  election  of  hop  managers  for  the 
coming  summer.  There  were  to  be  nine  from 


198 


the  new  First  Class  and  six  from  theirs,  and  can 
vassing  was  already  lively.  Benny  renewed  his 
hospitalities,  and  sought  to  extend  the  circle  of 
his  guests,  for  of  the  former  lot  no  less  than  six 
had  been  among  the  victims  discharged.  He  be 
gan  showing  attention  to  many  a  class-mate  hith 
erto  unnoticed.  He  had  a  confidential,  caressing 
way  of  twining  his  arm  around  the  boy  he  de 
sired  to  win  over  as  they  walked  off  together, 
and  all  his  arts  were  put  in  play. 

The  election  was  scheduled  for  the  15th  of 
March,  and  despite  the  wintry  and  blustering 
weather  the  Hon.  Mr.  Frazier  and  his  accom 
plished  wife  came  from  Beanton,  bringing  with 
them  two  very  pretty  cousins  of  Benny's,  really 
charming  girls,  and  Benny  marshalled  his  class 
mates  up  to  the  hotel  to  see  them  on  Saturday 
and  Sunday,  Pops  blushing  like  a  rose  when  Mrs. 
Frazier  took  his  hand  and  said  how  glad  she  was 
to  know  the  soldierly  room-mate  of  whom  her 
dear  boy  had  told  her  so  much.  Doubtless  the 
fond  mother  thought  how  very  fortunate  Geor- 
die  was  in  being  Benny's  friend. 

Altogether  the  little  visit  was  a  big  success. 
Despite  the  open  refusal  of  many  to  vote  for  Fra 
zier,  it  was  held  that  a  young  man  with  his  social 
advantages  could  not  fail  to  reflect  credit  upon 
the  class.  Enough  ballots,  therefore,  were  cast  to 
barely  squeeze  him  through,  the  lowest  of  the  six. 


199 


"  I'm  sorry  they  didn't  name  you  as  one  of 
them,  corporal,"  he  said ;  "  but  I  suppose  you  fel 
lows  from  the  frontier  don't  go  much  on  society." 

And,  as  usual,  Pops  quietly  grinned  without 
making  any  reply,  and,  election  over,  Benny  soon 
fell  back  into  his  old  ways. 

We  must  jump  now  to  June.  All  through 
May  Benny  had  been  "  bracing  up  for  corporal- 
ship,"  for  he  could  not  but  note  how  utterly  his 
claims  were  ignored  by  his  own  class-mates,  while 
Pops  kept  on  in  the  same  steadfast  line  of  duty, 
always  prompt  and  alert,  but  silent ;  so  reticent, 
in  fact,  and  so  halting  at  times  in  recitations,  that 
he  was  looked  upon  by  his  instructors  as  slow. 
Delightedly  the  whole  corps  doffed  the  sombre 
gray  and  donned  the  white  trousers  on  the  1st 
of  June.  Review  and  reception  of  the  Board  of 
Visitors  went  off  in  the  usual  finished  style.  The 
examinations  of  the  graduating  and  furlough 
classes  were  rushed  swiftly  yet  searchingly  to 
their  close,  the  Fourth  Class  sections  being  taken 
up  rapidly,  and  disposed  of  in  the  same  cold 
blooded,  business-like  style,  and  then,  one  glorious 
June  morning,  the  whole  corps  marched  as  escort 
to  the  graduates  to  the  front  of  the  library,  where 
the  diplomas  were  presented  with  much  cere 
mony  and  congratulation.  Then  back  to  the 
front  of  barracks  they  tramped  and  re-formed 


200 


line,  and  Glenn's  voice  rang  out  the  last  order 
he  was  destined  to  read  as  adjutant  of  the  corps 
of  cadets.  All  appointments  hitherto  existing 
in  the  battalion  were  annulled,  and  the  following 
announced  in  their  stead :  To  be  captains,  cadets 
so  and  so  (Pops's  first  sergeant  among  them).  To 
be  adjutant,  Cadet  Blank.  Then  a  list  of  lieuten 
ants,  another  of  sergeants,  and  then,  to  the  thrill 
ing  interest  of  Geordie  and  his  class-mates,  now 
become  full-fledged  yearlings,  the  list  of  corpo 
rals.  Cadets  Benton,  Wright,  Ames,  and  Connell, 
the  first  four;  Harry  Winn, eighth,  Graham  some 
where  below  the  middle ;  Benny  Frazier  nowhere. 
The  January  head  of  the  class  was  unplaced  on 
the  soldier  list,  and  three  days  later  was  officially 
announced  to  have  fallen  from  first  to  fourth  in 
general  standing. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

YEARLING  camp  at  last !  The  battalion  was  re 
organized  in  order  to  equalize  the  four  companies. 
The  graduates  and  furlough-men — the  latter  their 
tormentors  of  the  previous  year — were  gone,  and 
Pops  wrote  to  his  father  and  McCrea  that  the 
hardest  thing  he  had  had  yet  to  do  was  to  say 
farewell  to  Glenn  and  Kand  and  his  own  cap 
tain,  Leonard — the  three  First  Class  officers  whom 
he  and  the  plebes  generally  so  greatly  admired. 
Otis,  too,  was  another  with  whom  he  found  it 
hard  to  part.  He  didn't  know  how  good  a  friend 
he  had  in  him  until  after  he  was  gone.  Then  an 
odd  thing  happened. 

The  furlough-men's  turn  came  next,  and  hilari 
ously  they  were  rushing  about  the  area,  shaking 
hands  right  and  left  with  the  objects  of  their 
annoying  attentions  of  the  year  before.  Benny 
Frazier  was  loudly  and  conspicuously  fraternizing 
with  every  older  cadet,  including  a  number  whom 
he  was  wont  to  declare  nothing  on  earth  would 
ever  induce  him  to  speak  to.  Pops  and  Connell, 
shyly  conscious  of  the  glisten  and  glory  of  their 
new  chevrons,  were  standing  a  little  apart  at  the 


steps  of  the  third  division,  waiting  for  the  dinner- 
drum  to  beat,  when  Connell,  for  the  first  time,  as 
senior  non-commissioned  officer  present  for  duty, 
was  to  form  the  company,  Pops  assisting  as  a  file- 
closer.  The  two  fast  friends  had  been  designated 
as  acting  first  and  third  sergeants  respectively. 
Suddenly  Woods,  with  two  of  his  class-mates,  in 
their  "spick-and-span"  civilian  garb,  came  bust 
ling  by.  The  others  stopped  short  to  congratu 
late  the  pair  on  their  chevrons  and  to  add  a  friend 
ly  word  or  two,  and  then,  to  Geordie's  surprise, 
Woods  looked  him  straight  in  the  eye  :  "  Gra 
ham,  I  want  to  say  before  I  go  that  I  am  heartily 
sorry  for  my  part  in  our  quarrel  of  last  summer, 
and  that  you  behaved  perfectly  right.  Won't 
you  shake  hands  ?"  And  in  an  instant  there  was 
cordial  hand-clasp,  and  with  a  dozen  yearlings 
and  furlough-men  intermingled  about  them,  there 
was  a  general  "shake"  all  round,  and  patting  of 
one  another  on  the  back,  and  Woods  went  off 
happier  for  the  consciousness  that  at  last  he  had 
done  the  manly  and  chivalrous  thing  he  should 
have  done  long  before.  Otis  and  Leonard  had 
told  him  as  much,  and  down  in  the  bottom  of 
his  heart  he  knew  they  were  right.  Only  it's  so 
hard  a  thing  to  do.  Not  that  a  gentleman,  boy 
or  man,  will  shrink  from  begging  the  forgiveness 
of  one  whom  he  has  injured,  but  because  there 
are  always  so  many,  boys  and  men  both,  who  are 


'  WON'T    YOU    SHAKE    HANDS  ?'  " 


203 


not  gentlemen,  to  sneer  at  what  they  term  the 
"  back-down." 

And  so  there  were  here.  Mr.  Jennings,  cadet 
private,  Company  A,  of  the  furlough  class,  but 
kept  back  a  few  days  on  account  of  an  accumu 
lation  of  demerit,  and  said  to  be  in  danger  of  de 
ficiency  in  mathematics,  was  very  loud  in  his  con 
demnation  of  the  proceedings,  now  that  Woods 
and  most  of  the  class  were  gone,  and  there  was 
no  Glenn  to  overawe  him.  The  new  First  Class 
officers  did  not  like  Jennings,  but  did  not  know 
him  as  thoroughly  as  did  their  predecessors. 
Frazier,  however,  was  the  only  member  of  the 
new  yearling  class  who  was  at  all  sarcastic  about 
the  reconciliation ;  but  Benny  was  in  bitter  mood 
just  now.  Few  of  the  departing  cadets,  gradu 
ates  or  leave  men,  had  troubled  themselves  to 
say  a  cordial  word  to  him.  Few  of  his  class 
mates  had  expressed  regret  at  his  having  fallen 
from  the  head  of  the  class,  and  fewer  still  at  his 
failure  to  win  chevrons.  No  boy  at  the  Point 
marched  into  camp  that  lovely  June  morning 
with  such  a  jealous  demon  of  disappointment 
gnawing  at  his  heart  as  did  Benny  Frazier.  It 
boded  ill  for  himself,  for  his  friends,  and  for  any 
new  cadets  who  fell  into  his  clutches ;  for  the 
boy  who  so  loudly  and  persistently  announced 
the  year  before  that  nothing  on  earth  could  in 
duce  him  to  say  or  do  a  thing  to  worry  a  Fourth 


204 


Class  man  was  become  the  very  terror  of  the 
plebes. 

For  two  weeks,  of  course,  the  opportunities 
were  few.  The  new  First  and  Third  classes  were 
sent  into  camp  as  the  new-comers  arrived  and 
were  brought  before  their  examiners.  The  even 
ing  the  order  was  given  to  pack  up  and  store  in 
the  trunk-rooms  everything  not  to  be  taken  to 
camp  Pops  was  busily  at  work,  while  Benny,  be 
ing  room  orderly,  and  solely  responsible,  was 
smoking  cigarette  after  cigarette,  and  "  chaffing 
the  corporal,"  as  he  called  it.  There  came  a 
sudden  knock  at  the  door;  Benny  hurled  the 
stump  into  a  corner,  and  sprang  to  the  middle  of 
the  floor  aghast.  Such  a  thing  as  inspection  the 
last  night  in  barracks  had  not  occurred  to  him 
as  a  possibility,  and  this  time  he,  not  Pops, 
would  have  to  bear  the  punishment.  He  was 
trembling  with  excitement  and  fear,  when  a 
drum -boy  orderly  poked  in  his  head  and  said 
Mr.  Graham  was  wanted  at  the  commandant's 
office  at  once.  Instantly  Benny  broke  forth  in 
angry  abuse  of  the  drummer,  whom  he  accused 
of  purposely  imitating  an  officers  knock,  and 
threatened  him  with  all  manner  of  vengeance. 
The  drum-boy,  instead  of  being  abashed,  looked 
Mr.  Frazier  straight  in  the  face,  and  replied : 

"  You  will  kick  me  down  -  stairs,  will  you  $ 
You  try  it  if  you  want  to  get  kicked  out  of  the 


205 


corps  of  cadets.  I'm  not  to  be  abused  by  the 
likes  of  you." 

And  Pops,  amazed  at  such  language  from  a 
drummer  to  a  cadet,  even  though  Frazier  had 
provoked  it,  was  still  more  amazed  at  the  sud 
den  change  that  shot  over  his  room-mate's  quiv 
ering  face.  Geordie  took  the  drum-boy  by  the 
shoulder  and  put  him  promptly  out  into  the 
hall. 

"  You  know  better  than  to  speak  to  a  cadet  in 
that  way,"  he  said,  quietly,  but  sternly.  "Go 
back  to  the  guard -house."  But  the  boy  replied 
he  had  another  message  to  deliver. 

"  I  don't  speak  that  way  to  any  other  gentle 
man  in  the  corps,"  said  he,  "  but  I  can't  stand 
that  fellow,  neither  can  any  of  us,  and  you 
couldn't  either  if  you  knew  what  we  know." 

But  here  Geordie  ordered  silence,  and  telling 
the  boy  to  go  about  his  business  and  keep  away 
from  Frazier,  he  hurried  down -stairs.  At  the 
office  were  the  commandant  and  Lieutenant 
Allen,  also  the  new  cadet  captain  of  Company 
B,  their  first  sergeant  of  the  previous  year. 
Presently  Winn  and  Crandal — Graham's  class 
mates — arrived,  and  the  four  cadets  were  called 
in.  It  was  fifteen  minutes  thereafter  when  Geor 
die  returned  to  his  room,  his  heart  beating  high 
with  pride  and  happiness.  He  had  forgotten 
for  the  moment  the  episode  of  the  drummer- 


206 


boy.  He  went  bounding  up  to  the  top  flight, 
four  steps  to  the  jump,  burst  in  at  the  door  just 
as  the  orderly  came  backing  out,  stowing  some 
thing  in  his  pocket.  Frazier,  still  pale  and  with 
a  deep  line  between  his  gloomy  eyes,  nervous 
ly  thrust  some  money  between  the  leaves  of  a 
book.  Geordie  plainly  saw  it.  "  I  told  you  not 
to  return  here,"  said  he,  sternly,  to  the  boy. 

"I  called  him  in,  Graham,"  interposed  Fra 
zier.  "  He — he  had  to  apologize  for  his  words, 
or — get  into  trouble." 

But  the  look  on  the  drummer's  face  was  not 
that  of  dejection  as  he  vanished,  and  Graham, 
without  a  word,  began  unpacking.  Frazier  light 
ed  a  cigarette  and  retired  to  his  alcove.  For  fif 
teen  minutes  not  a  word  was  exchanged,  then, 
as  Graham  opened  the  door,  and  loaded  up  with 
a  bundle  of  bedding  and  clothing,  Frazier  spoke : 

"Where  are  you  going  with  that  truck  now? 
You've  got  to  take  it  over  to  camp  in  the  morn- 
ing." 

"  I'm  not  going  to  camp,"  said  Geordie,  slow 
ly—"  at  least,  not  now.  And,  Frazier,"  continued 
he,  laying  down  his  bundle,  "  I've  not  yet  said 
one  word  to  anybody  but  yourself  about  this. 
I've  told  you  twice  that  our  ways  were  so  differ 
ent  that  we  did  not  get  along  as  we  should  as 
tent  or  room  mates,  so  if  you  want  to  take  any 
body  else,  do  so.  It  '11  be  some  time  before  I 


207 


come  into  camp,  and  then  I  shall  slip  into  any 
vacancy  that  there  may  be.  To  be  perfectly 
frank,  I  cannot  afford  the  demerit  it  costs  me 
to  live  with  you,  and  —  I  don't  like  cigarette 
smoke." 

"  Any  more  than  you  do  me,  I  suppose,"  drawl 
ed  Frazier,  interrupting.  "Now  that  you've  got 
your  chevrons,  and  passed  to  the  Third  Class, 
you've  no  further  use  for  the  fellow  that  helped 
you  to  both." 

Graham  colored.  It  was  so  utterly  false  and 
unjust. 

"  I've  no  word  to  say  against  you,  Frazier,  and 
you  know  it.  I  am  obliged  to  you  for  what  help 
you  gave  me,  but  I  don't  think  I  owe  either  my 
chevrons  or  my  gain  in  standing  to  you." 

"  Oh,  you've  had  this  thing  all  cut  and  dried 
for  weeks,"  said  Benny,  sneering.  "You're  simply 
moving  over  into  Connell's  room  as  a  prelimi 
nary  to  moving  into  camp  with  him,  leaving  me 
to  find  a  tent-mate  at  the  last  moment." 

"  I  am  not  going  to  Connell's.  I  am  not  going 
to  camp.  I  told  you  so,"  said  Geordie,  gulping 
down  his  wrath,  and  speaking — as  he  had  seen 
McCrea,  when  he  was  very  angry — slowly  and 
deliberately. 

"  Where,  then  ?  Where  are  you  going  to  ? 
Surely" —  and  here  a  sudden  light  dawned  on 
Benny  —  "  surely  you've  not  been  turned  out 


208 


over  plebes.  You  are  ?  You  f  Well,  may  I 
be  blessed !  Listen  to  this,  fellows,"  he  cried, 
rushing  across  the  hall,  raging  within  himself 
with  envy,  baffled  hope  and  ambition,  bitter  jeal 
ousy  and  remorse,  all  intermingled  —  "  listen  to 
this :  Corporal  Pops  turned  out  over  plebes !" 

"Well,  why  not?"  answered  the  yearling  ad 
dressed  ;  while  his  room-mate  coolly  demanded  : 

"  What  is  there  that  seems  ridiculous  to  you  in 
that,  Frazier?"  And  he,  too,  went  in  to  con 
gratulate  Graham,  while  Benny  dashed  miser 
ably  down -stairs  in  search  of  some  one  to  sym 
pathize  with  him,  and  some  one  to  whom  to  tell 
the  story  of  Graham's  treachery. 

"  Upbraided  Pops  for  going  back  on  him  about 
the  tent,  did  he  ?"  said  Benton  after  tattoo  that 
night.  "  Well,  the  moment  it  was  known,  five 
days  ago,  that  I  was  to  act  as  sergeant  -  major 
this  summer,  Frazier  came  to  ask  me  to  choose 
him  for  a  tent-mate  and  battalion  clerk.  He  can 
make  out  a  prettier  set  of  papers  than  any  man  in 
the  class,  but  I'd  rather  do  all  the  work  myself, 
and  any  fellow  can  tell  him  so  that  likes  to." 

And  so  for  two  weeks  after  the  battalion  went 
into  camp  Pops  remained  on  duty  at  the  men 
agerie,  proud  and  happy  in  the  trust  reposed  in 
him.  He  was  the  junior  of  the  corporals  de 
tailed  for  this  important  and  onerous  duty. 
Under  the  supervision  of  Lieutenant  Allen  and 


*:?>?       i 


209 


the  command  of  Cadet  Captain  Rice,  these 
young  corporals,  who  but  a  year  ago  were 
undergoing  their  own  initiation,  were  become 
the  instructors  and  disciplinarians  of  the  new 
comers,  as  well  as  their  defenders  against  year 
ling  depredations. 

To  Pops  the  duty  meant  ceaseless  vigilance  in 
two  ways  —  against  his  class-mates  on  the  one 
hand,  against  himself  on  the  other.  He  was  a  be 
liever  in  the  better  results  to  be  obtained  from 
a  firm,  sustained,  and  dignified  system  of  instruc 
tion,  as  opposed  to  the  more  snappy  and  emphat 
ic  methods  that  had  long  been  the  accepted  thing 
among  yearling  drill-masters.  The  latter  might 
be  more  efficacious  where  drills  were  few  and  the 
squads  careless  or  slouchy  ;  but  when  drilling 
three  times  a  day,  and  drilling  boys  eager  to 
learn  and  trying  to  do  their  best,  Pops  had  views 
of  his  own.  At  first  their  duties  were  to  assist 
and  supervise  their  class-mates  detailed  as  squad 
instructors,  but  time  and  again  Geordie  found 
that  a  few  quiet  words  from  him,  accompanied 
by  an  illustration  of  the  soldierly  execution  of 
the  required  motion,  had  far  more  effect  than 
the  scolding  of  his  comrades.  Presently  the 
squads  were  consolidated.  Then  came  the  event 
ful  day  of  their  march  to  camp  and  distribution 
to  companies.  The  night  before  this  happened 
Lieutenant  Allen  took  occasion  to  compliment 

14 


210 


the  cadet  captain  on  his  vigilance  and  manage 
ment.  "  And  what's  more,  sir,  you  were  right 
about  Mr.  Graham.  Both  the  colonel  and  I 
thought  him  slow  and  perhaps  lacking  in  force, 
but  he  has  done  admirably." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  answered  Mr.  Rice,  "  and  I  believe 
he  will  be  just  as  efficient  in  the  battalion." 

Once  in  camp,  of  course,  the  yearlings  not 
on  duty  over  plebes  took  every  opportunity  to 
play  the  customary  tricks  and  enforce  the  usual 
"taking  down"  process.  Balked  in  their  earlier 
efforts,  a  gang  led  by  Frazier  became  conspicuous 
in  every  scheme  to  humiliate  and  annoy.  The 
boy  who  was  most  petulant  and  persistent  in  his 
complaints  of  the  brutality  of  yearling  language 
the  year  before  was  loudest  and  most  annoying 
now,  as  well  as  the  most  relentless  taskmaster. 
He  was  occupying  a  "  yearling  den,"  the  second 
tent  from  the  color-line,  with  two  equally  reck 
less  fellows  as  mates,  while  Connell,  occupying 
the  first  sergeant's  tent  at  the  east  end  of  the 
company  street,  had  saved  a  place  for  Geordie, 
who,  though  continued  on  special  duty  over 
plebes,  now  slept  in  his  own  company.  Frazier 
had  made  some  scoffing  salutation  as  Pops  came 
wheeling  in  his  barrow -load  of  bedding,  but 
Graham  paid  no  heed.  The  relations  of  the  pre 
vious  year  were  practically  at  an  end. 

For  the  first  three  or  four  nights  such  was  the 


211 


vigilance  of  the  officers  that  little  active  disturb 
ance  of  the  plebes  occurred ;  but  at  all  hours 
of  the  day  and  evening,  when  the  boys  were  not 
in  ranks  or  on  duty,  hazing  in  some  form  or 
other  was  going  on.  The  hops  had  begun.  The 
post  was  filling  up  with  visitors.  Many  of  the 
corps  had  friends  and  relatives  at  the  hotels  or 
among  the  families  on  the  post.  Benny,  a  beau 
tiful  dancer,  and  bright,  chatty  fellow,  was  bask 
ing  in  the  sunshine  of  his  social  triumphs  out 
side  of  camp  and  revelling  in  mischief  within. 
By  the  8th  of  July  Graham  had  a  squad  of  thirty 
plebes  to  drill  and  perfect  in  the  manual,  and 
keen  was  the  rivalry  between  his  boys  and  Cran- 
dal's.  Geordie  had  won  the  respect  and  was 
rapidly  winning  the  enthusiastic  regard  of  his 
recruits.  Crandal,  far  sharper  in  his  manner,  was 
"  much  more  military,"  as  most  of  the  yearlings 
said,  but  the  officers  held  different  views.  Both 
Winn  and  Crandal  ranked  Geordie,  as  has  been 
stated;  yet  the  Kentuckian,  after  watching  Pops's 
methods  while  his  own  squad  was  resting,  did 
not  hesitate  to  say,  "  He  holds  right  over  us ; 
we're  not  in  it  with  him  as  a  drill-master" — a 
statement  which  Crandal,  however,  could  not  for 
a  moment  indorse. 

On  the  10th  of  July  every  man  of  Geordie's 
squad  was  in  the  battalion,  yet  forty  remained 
who  were  declared  not  yet  proficient.  Some  were 


212 


"Winn's,  some  Crandal's,  some  were  the  back 
sliders  from  smaller  squads,  but  Winn  was  re 
lieved,  and  sent  back  to  the  battalion  to  act  as 
color  -  bearer,  and  only  Crandal  and  Pops  were 
left.  Four  days  later  Mr.  Crandal  was  returned 
to  his  company.  "  Made  too  much  noise,"  said 
Lieutenant  Allen,  in  explaining  it  afterwards, 
and  Pops  was  left  in  sole  charge  of  the  back 
ward  plebes.  Within  the  week  Colonel  Hazzard, 
after  critical  watching  for  a  day  or  two,  said  to 
Geordie,  in  the  hearing  of  the  sentry  on  Num 
ber  Five  :  "  That  is  excellent  work,  Mr.  Graham. 
You  deserve  great  credit,  sir."  And  the  sentry 
on  Number  Five  was  Benny  Frazier,  who  listened 
with  jealous  and  angry  heart. 

Two  days  later,  all  plebes  being  now  regularly 
in  the  battalion,  Geordie  was  returned  to  duty 
with  Company  B,  and  the  next  day  marched  on 
guard  as  junior  corporal.  He  had  heard  of  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frazier  with  their  girl 
friends  the  previous  evening;  and  just  before  pa 
rade,  among  the  throng  of  arriving  guests,  as 
Geordie  was  returning  from  the  post  of  the  sen 
try  on  Number  Two,  he  came  suddenty  upon  the 
party  close  to  the  visitors'  tent.  Throwing  his 
rifle  into  the  other  hand,  Geordie  lifted  his  shako 
in  courteous  salutation.  Mr.  Frazier  senior,  walk 
ing  with  Cadet  Warren,  made  a  flourishing  bow, 
and  in  stately  dignity  said  : 


213 


"  6r6>e><#-evening,  Mr.  Graham :  I  hope  you  are 
well,  sir,"  but  passed  quickly  on.  Mrs.  Frazier's 
bow  and  the  bows  of  the  younger  ladies  were 
cold  and  formal.  A  lump  rose  in  Geordie's 
throat.  He  hated  to  be  misjudged. 

"It's  all  Benny  boy's  doings,"  said  Connell, 
angrily,  when  he  learned  of  the  occurrence  that 
night.  "  That  young  prodigy  is  a  well  -  bred, 
sweet-mannered  cad." 

It  seems,  too,  that  the  Honorable  Mr.  Frazier 
adopted  the  same  magnificent  manner  to  the  sen 
ior  officers  whom  he  chanced  to  meet.  To  them, 
to  whom  he  could  not  say  too  much  of  Benny's 
gifts  a  year  gone  by,  he  now  spoke  only  in  the 
most  formal  and  ceremonious  way.  To  certain 
of  the  younger  graduates,  however,  he  confided 
his  sense  of  the  affront  put  upon  him  personally 
by  the  omission  of  the  name  of  his  son  and  heir 
("  The  finest  soldier  of  the  lot,  sir,  as  any  com 
petent  and  unprejudiced  officer  will  tell  you") 
from  the  list  of  corporals. 

But  if  the  disappointed  old  gentleman  would 
no  longer  recognize  the  superintendent  and  com 
mandant  as  men  worthy  his  esteem,  he  was  show 
ing  odd  interest  in  the  humbler  grades.  Lieuten 
ant  Allen,  trotting  in  one  evening  from  a  ride 
through  the  mountains,  came  suddenly  upon  two 
dim  figures  just  outside  the  north  gate.  One,  a 
drummer-boy,  darted  down  the  hill  towards  the 


214 

engineer  barracks;  the  other,  tall  and  portly, 
turned  his  back  and  walked  with  much  dignity 
away. 

"What's  old  man  Frazier  hobnobbing  with 
drum-boys  for?"  said  he  to  Lieutenant  Breeze  at 
the  mess  that  evening,  at  which  query  the  bright 
eyes  of  Lieutenant  Breeze  blazed  with  added  in 
terest. 

"  I  wish  I  could  find  out,"  said  he. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

AUGUST  came,  and  the  Fraziers  went,  promis 
ing  to  return  for  the  28th.  Once  more  all  the 
influences  that  a  mother's  love  can  devise  had 
been  brought  to  bear  on  those  members  of  Ben 
ny's  class  whose  friendship  he  either  claimed  or 
desired.  Connell  had  been  besieged  with  smiles, 
and  would  have  been  overwhelmed  with  atten 
tions  but  for  his  sturdy  determination  "not  to 
be  bought."  Then  came  open  rupture.  As  first 
sergeant  he  had  rebuked  Frazier  for  falling  in 
with  belts  disarranged  at  parade,  and  attempting 
to  adjust  them  in  ranks.  Benny  was  piling  up 
demerit,  and  yet  taking  every  possible  liberty, 
and  doing  a  good  deal  of  angry  talking  behind 
Connell's  back  when  reported.  This  time  Con 
nell  left  his  place  in  front  of  the  centre  and 
Avalked  down  opposite  his  class-mate. 

"  Fall  out,  Frazier.  You  know  perfectly  well 
you  have  no  business  in  ranks  in  that  shape.  Fall 
out,  and  fix  your  belts."  And  Frazier,  scowling 
and  muttering  sulkily,  obeyed.  Connell  over 
heard  something  that  sounded  very  like  "put 
ting  on  too  many  airs ;  boning  military  at  a 


216 


class-mate's  expense,"  as  he  started  back  to  his 
post,  and  whirled  about,  quick  as  a  cat. 

"  Class-mate  or  no  class-mate,  you  cannot  ap 
pear  in  ranks  of  this  company  in  that  shape,  and 
I  want  no  words  about  it,"  he  said.  Then  as 
Benny,  hanging  his  head  and  refusing  to  meet 
his  eyes,  bunglingly  fastened  his  belt,  Connell 
went  on  to  the  right  of  the  company.  They 
were  standing  at  ease  by  this  time,  and  as  soon 
as  Connell  was  well  out  of  hearing,  Frazier  again 
began : 

"You're  taking  advantage  of  your  size, 
that's  what  you're  doing,  Mr.  Connell ;  and 
you  wouldn't  dare  to  speak  to  me  in  that  tone 
if  you  weren't  altogether  too  big  for  me  to 
tackle." 

Geordie  heard  this.  He  could  not  help  hear 
ing  it,  but  before  he  could  warn  Benny  to  say 
no  more  of  that,  the  cadet  captain  called  the 
company  to  attention,  and  began  his  inspection. 
That  night,  after  tattoo,  Connell  said  to  Geor 
die: 

"I  hear  that  Frazier  declared  I  was  taking 
advantage  of  my  size.  Did  you  hear  it  ?"  And 
Pops  refused  to  answer. 

"I  don't  mean  to  see  any  more  trouble  be 
tween  you  and  Benny  if  I  can  help  it,  Con," 
said  he.  "  He's  making  an  ass  of  himself,  but 
there  sha'n't  be  any  row  if  I  can  prevent  it." 


217 


But  Pops  couldn't  prevent  it.  Connell  went 
wrathfully  in  search  of  Benny,  charged  him  with 
what  had  been  said,  and  demanded  that  he  either 
affirm  or  deny  it,  and  Benny  could  not  deny; 
there  were  altogether  too  many  witnesses. 

"  I  am  too  heavy  to  take  advantage  of  you  in 
any  way,"  said  Connell,  as  soon  as  he  could  con 
trol  his  temper  sufficiently,  "  but  in  the  whole 
class  or  the  whole  corps  I  challenge  you  to  find 
one  man  who  will  say  I  have  imposed  in  the 
faintest  degree  upon  you.  If  you  can,  I'll  beg  your 
pardon ;  if  not,  by  Jupiter,  you  must  beg  mine !" 

So  far  from  finding  any  one  to  agree  with 
him,  for  even  his  tent-mates  had  to  admit  they 
thought  he  deserved  all  he  got,  and  was  lucky  in 
not  being  reported  for  muttering  when  spoken 
to  on  duty — a  report  which  carried  heavy  pun 
ishment —  Benny  ran  foul  of  a  Tartar.  Little 
Brooks,  who  was  slighter  and  shorter  than  him 
self,  fired  up  when  Frazier  appealed  to  him,  and 
said :  "  Connell  was  perfectly  right,  and  you  were 
utterly  wrong.  You've  been  wrong  all  along 
ever  since  we  came  in  camp.  You've  imposed 
on  him  in  every  way  you  dared,  and  simply 
forced  him  to  '  skin '  you,  or  else  stand  convicted 
of  showing  you  partiality.  That's  my  opinion, 
since  you  ask  it ;  and  if  I  were  in  ConnelPs  place 
you'd  eat  your  words  or  fight— one  of  the  two." 

This  was  a  stunner,  as  Winn  put  it.     Benny 


218 


now  had  no  recourse  but  to  challenge  Brooks, 
as,  indeed,  Benny  himself  well  knew.  It  was 
either  that  or  a  case  of  being  "  sent  to  Coventry." 

"  My  parents  are  here,  as  you  very  probably 
considered  when  you  made  your  remarks,  Mr. 
Brooks,"  said  he,  magnificently.  "  I  do  not  wish 
to  fight  while  they're  here.  They  go  on  Satur 
day,  and  then  we  can  settle  this." 

"Any  time  you  please,  only  don't  wait  too 
long,"  was  Brooks's  reply. 

But  they  didn't  go  Saturday.  They  stayed 
several  days  longer.  Meantime  Frazier  accused 
Geordie  of  having  reported  his  language  to  Con- 
nell.  He  also  told  his  mother  of  this  new  act  of 
meanness  on  Graham's  part.  Mrs.  Frazier  could 
not  understand  such  base  ingratitude.  If  that 
was  the  result  of  being  brought  up  in  the  army, 
she  hoped  her  boy  would  quit  the  service  as  soon 
as  possible  after  graduation.  Frazier  apologized 
to  Connell  with  very  bad  grace.  But  while  that 
ended  hostilities,  so  far  as  they  were  concerned, 
Connell  told  him  in  plain  words  that  he  owed 
still  another  apology.  "  You  have  given  your 
relations  to  understand,"  he  said,  "  that  it  was 
Graham  who  reported  your  language  to  me.  It 
was  Graham  who  refused  to  do  it."  All  the 
same,  Benny  did  not  take  the  trouble  to  undo 
the  wrong  he  had  done,  and  set  Geordie  right 
with  his  mother  and  friends. 


219 


The  Fraziers  were  gone  by  the  first  week  in 
August,  however,  and  then  Benny  had  a  disor 
dered  stomach  of  some  kind,  and  Dr.  Brett  ex- 
•cused  him  two  days,  but  sent  him  about  his 
business  on  the  third,  saying  there  was  nothing 
on  earth  the  matter  with  him  but  eating  too 
much  pastry  and  smoking  cigarettes.  Then  Ben 
ny  had  several  confinements  to  serve,  and  sent 
word  to  Mr.  Brooks,  who  was  waxing  impatient, 
that  there' d  be  time  enough  after  he  got  out  of 
confinement  and  could  go  to  Fort  Clinton.  Brooks 
replied  that  if  it  would  be  any  accommodation 
he'd  cut  supper  that  evening,  and  they  could 
"  have  it  out  "  in  the  company  street  when  camp 
was  deserted,  but  Frazier  declined.  By  the  sec 
ond  week  in  August  the  boy  found  he  was  con 
sidered  a  shirk,  and  in  order  to  prove  his  willing 
ness  to  fight  he  carried  his  bullying  of  a  shy, 
silent,  lanky  plebe  to  a  point  the  poor  fellow 
couldn't  stand.  He  was  taller  than  Frazier,  but 
had  not  the  advantage  of  the  year's  gymnastic 
training,  and  Benny  won  an  easy  victory,  but 
only  over  the  plebe.  It  was  evident  his  class 
mates  were  still  shy  of  him. 

Then  he  came  to  Geordie  and  asked  him  to 
be  his  second,  and  carry  his  challenge  to  Brooks. 
He  wanted  the  indorsement  that  such  seconding 
would  carry,  but  Geordie  refused. 

"  "Why  not  ?"  asked  Benny,  hotly. 


220 


"  For  two  reasons.  First,  because  I  agree  with 
Brooks ;  and  second,  because  you  have  no  right 
whatever  to  ask  me  to  second  you." 

Benny  went  off ,  aflame  with  indignation,  to  re 
port  Graham's  monstrous  conduct.  Some  of  the 
class  said  Geordie  was  entirely  right ;  others  re 
plied  that  there  were  plenty  to  second  him  even 
if  Pops  wouldn't,  and  at  last  poor  Benny  found 
there  was  no  help  for  it.  He  had  to  meet  that 
fierce  little  C  Company  bantam,  and  he  did  ;  but 
the  fight  wasn't  worth  telling  about.  Benny 
couldn't  be  coaxed  to  get  up  after  the  second 
knock-down.  He  was  scientifically  hammered 
for  about  thirty  seconds,  and  that  was  quite 
enough.  He  was  so  meek  for  a  few  days  there 
after  that  even  the  plebes  laughed. 

And  now  the  foolish  boy  decided  it  due  to  his 
dignity  to  "cut  Graham  cold,"  which  means  to 
refuse  to  speak  to  or  recognize  a  fellow-cadet  at 
all — a  matter  that  hardly  helped  him  in  his  class, 
and  this  was  the  state  of  affairs  between  them 
until  the  end  of  camp. 

Geordie  really  felt  it  more  than  he  showed. 
He  hated  to  be  misjudged,  yet  was  too  proud  to 
require  any  further  words.  Between  him  and 
Connell,  Ames,  Winn,  Benton,  Eogers,  and  men 
of  that  stamp  in  the  class  the  bonds  of  friend 
ship  were  constantly  strengthening.  B  Company 
kept  up  a  good  name  for  discipline  during  camp, 


221 


thanks  to  Connell's  thoroughly  soldierly  work  as 
first  sergeant,  and  the  cadet  captain's  even-tem 
pered  methods.  Geordie,  as  third  sergeant,  had 
few  occasions  to  assert  his  authority  or  come  in 
unpleasant  contact  with  upper-class  men  serving 
as  privates.  He  was  content,  hopeful,  happy.  He 
spent  one  or  two  evenings  looking  on  at  the  hops, 
but  the  more  he  looked  the  more  boyish  his  class 
mates  appeared  as  contrasted  with  the  cavaliers 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  watch  at  Fort  Eeyn- 
olds;  so  he  and  Connell  preferred  listening  to 
the  music  from  a  distance.  On  Saturdays  they 
clambered  over  the  glorious  heights  that  sur 
rounded  them,  made  long  explorations  among  the 
mountains,  and  had  many  a  splendid  swim  in  the 
Hudson.  They  kept  up  their  dancing-lessons  u  for 
First  Class  camp,"  as  they  said,  and  to  that  they 
were  already  looking  forward. 

At  last  came  the  rush  of  visitors  for  the  clos 
ing  week  in  camp,  the  return  of  the  pallid-faced 
furlough -men,  the  surrender  of  their  offices  to 
the  bona  fide  sergeants,  and  Geordie  and  Connell 
found  themselves  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the 
front  rank  on  the  right  of  Company  B.  Three 
days  later,  and  with  the  September  sunshine 
pouring  in  their  window  on  the  south  side  of 
barracks,  the  two  corporals  were  room-mates  at 
last.  Connell  being  already  hailed  among  his 
class-mates  as  "Badger,"  in  honor  of  his  State, 


the  next  thing  Geordie  knew  some  fellow  sug 
gested  that  there  was  no  use  calling  him  "cor 
poral  "  when  he  really  was  a  corporal  and  would 
be  a  sergeant  in  less  than  a  year,  and  so,  Connell 
being  "  Badger,"  why  not  find  a  characteristic 
name  for  Pops.  "Call  him  JT^ote,"  suggested 
Fowler,  who  came  from  far  Nebraska,  and  gave 
the  frontiersman's  pronunciation  to  the  Spanish 
coyote  —  the  prairie  wolf.  And  so  it  happened 
that  the  two  Western  chums  started  their  house 
keeping  for  the  Third  Class  year  under  the  firm 
name  of  "  Badger  &  Coyote." 

Meantime  Benny  Frazier,  staggering  under  a 
heavy  weight  of  demerit  and  the  ill  -  concealed 
distrust  of  a  number  of  his  class,  had  moved  into 
the  room  across  the  hall.  Connell  and  Geordie 
had  hoped  they  would  not  find  themselves  in  the 
same  division,  but  the  matter  seemed  unavoida 
ble.  Benny's  chum  was  a  college -bred  young 
fellow  of  some  twenty  years  of  age,  with  a  love 
for  slang,  cigarettes,  and  fast  society.  His  name 
was  Cullen.  No  steadiness  could  be  expected 
there.  Extremes  met  in  the  two  cadet  house 
holds  at  the  south  end  of  the  third  division  "cock 
loft"  that  beautiful  autumn,  and,  except  as  ex 
tremes,  they  hardly  met  at  all.  There  was  little 
intercourse  between  the  rooms.  Cullen  sometimes 
came  in  to  borrow  matches,  soap,  postage-stamps, 
or  something  or  other  of  that  ilk;  Benny  never. 


223 


Studies  began  at  once  as  they  did  the  previous 
year,  and  Geordie  started  about  the  middle  of  the 
fourth  section  in  mathematics  and  in  the  fifth  in 
French.  In  determining  his  general  standing 
this  year  he  would  have  no  English  study  to  aid 
him.  He  must  do  his  best  with  analytical  and 
calculus,  with  French  and  drawing,  and  for  draw 
ing  he  had  little  or  no  taste.  It  was  with  gloom}" 
foreboding,  therefore,  that  the  boy  began  his 
work,  for  there  was  every  prospect  of  his  stand 
ing  lower  in  January  than  at  the  beginning  of 
the  term.  Frankly  he  wrote  home  his  fears,  and 
his  eyes  filled  when  he  read  the  loving,  confident 
replies.  Both  father  and  mother  were  well  con 
tent  with  his  record,  and  bade  him  borrow  no 
trouble.  Even  if  French  and  drawing  should 
pull  him  down  a  few  files,  what  mattered  it? 

Buddie  was  enthusiastically  happy,  however, 
for  when  the  revision  of  the  cadet  appointments 
was  announced  very  few  changes  were  made  ex 
cept  among  the  corporals.  Benton  held  his  place 
as  first,  Connell  rose  from  fourth  to  third,  Ames, 
more  studious  than  military,  dropped  a  few  files, 
and  Geordie  made  the  biggest  rise  of  anybody. 
From  fourteenth  he  climbed  to  eighth,  jumping 
among  others  Crandal,  and  this  in  Buddie's  eyes 
was  better  than  standing  high  in  scholarship. 

With  all  his  earnest  nature  Geordie  threw  him 
self  into  the  work  before  him.  Connell,  with  his 


224 


clear,  logical  head  and  steady  application,  speed 
ily  proved  of  the  utmost  service  to  his  less  brill 
iant  chum,  for,  so  far  from  resenting  request  for 
explanation,  he  was  perpetually  inquiring  if  Geor- 
die  saw  through  this,  that,  and  the  other  thing, 
and  resenting,  if  anything,  the  reluctance  of  his 
room-mate  to  ask  for  aid  instead  of  wasting  time 
groping  in  the  dark. 

"  Well,"  said  Pops,  "  I  don't  want  to  give  up 
until  certain  I  can't  do  it  myself,  and  it  takes 
time." 

This  in  itself  was  a  far  better  condition  of 
things  than  existed  the  previous  year.  Then 
there  was  another.  Connell  was  every  bit  as 
orderly  and  careful  as  Pops.  He  held  that  it 
was  unsoldierly  to  be  indifferent  to  regulations. 
From  first  to  last  of  September  neither  received 
a  single  demerit,  and  Connell  was  winning  high 
and  Graham  good  marks  in  every  academic  duty. 

The  autumn  weather  was  gorgeous.  The  after 
noon  battalion  and  skirmish  drills  were  full  of  spir 
it  and  interest.  Then  came  early  October,  early 
frosts,  gorgeous  foliage  all  over  the  heights,  and, 
above  all,  their  first  lessons  in  the  riding  -  hall. 
The  year  of  gymnastic  training  had  measurably 
prepared  them,  and  Frazier  had  ridden,  so  he  in 
formed  his  cronies,  ever  since  he  was  big  enough 
to  straddle  a  Shetland ;  he  therefore  was  all  im 
patience  to  show  the  class  how  perfectly  he  was 


I 


at  home  d  cheval.  But  like  many  and  many 
another  youth,  poor  Benny  found  there  was  a  vast 
difference  between  sitting  a  natty  English  pig 
skin  on  a  bridlewise  and  gaited  steed,  and  riding 
a  rough,  hard-mouthed  cavalry  "plug,"  whose 
jaws  and  temper  had  been  wrenched  by  his  ab 
normal  employment  as  a  draught-horse  at  battery 
drill.  Three  days'  chafing  sent  Frazier  to  hospi 
tal,  while  Pops  rode  higher  into  popular  favor. 

"  Coyote  may  be  no  mathematician,"  said  Winn, 
who,  as  a  Kentuckian,  was  authority  on  horse 
matters,  "  but  he  can  outride  any  man  in  this 
class,  by  jinks !  and  give  points  to  many  a  fel 
low  in  the  others." 

When  December  came  Geordie's  patient,  stead 
fast  work  had  begun  to  tell.  Drawing  proved 
no  such  stumbling-block  as  he  expected.  He 
found  himself  clumsy  at  first  in  topographical 
work,  yet  gradually  becoming  interested  and 
skilful.  His  score  was  the  exact  reverse  of  Fra- 
zier's.  Starting  with  his  usual  easy  dash  and 
confidence,  Benny's  performances  the  first  few 
weeks  won  high  marks,  while  Geordie's  "goose- 
tracks"  were  rewarded  with  nothing  above  2. 
As  weeks  wore  on  the  steadfast  workers  began 
to  challenge  Frazier  for  place.  One  after  another 
Benton,  Ames,  and  certain  lesser  lights  climbed 
above  him.  Then  he  grew  reckless,  and  the  week 
before  the  Christmas  holidays  Graham's  mark 


15 


226 


was  better  than  that  of  the  quondam  head  of  the 
class.  So,  too,  in  French.  Geordie  never  could 
succeed  in  reading  or  speaking  the  language  in 
which  Frazier  was  idiomatic  fluency  itself,  but 
he  knew  more  about  its  grammatical  structure, 
and  his  translations  were  accurate,  and  even  at 
times  scholarly.  The  January  examination,  to 
which  Graham  had  looked  forward  with  such 
dread,  because  he  believed  he  must  go  down, 
passed  off  with  very  different  results.  He  had 
gained  two  files  in  mathematics,  ten  in  languages, 
and  twelve  in  drawing.  As  for  discipline,  he  and 
Connell  stood  among  the  very  leaders. 

"  Stick  to  it,  Geordie  boy,"  wrote  Lieutenant 
McCrea,  "  we're  proud  of  you.  I  have  bet  Lane 
you  will  be  one  of  the  four  first  sergeants  in  June 
and  up  among  the  twenties  in  class  rank."  As 
for  his  mother's  letter,  Geordie  read  it  with  eyes 
that  grew  so  wet  the  loving  words  began  to  swim 
and  dance,  and  soon  were  blotted  out  entirely. 

Then  came  the  long  uphill  pull  to  furlough 
June  —  that  blessed,  blissful,  half-way  resting- 
place  so  eagerly  looked  forward  to.  If  it  meant 
joy  to  fourscore  stalwart  young  fellows,  who  for 
two  years  had  been  living  a  life  of  absolute  rou 
tine  and  discipline,  what  did  it  not  promise  to 
fond,  yearning  mother  hearts  at  home — to  moth 
er  eyes  pining  for  the  sight  of  the  brave  boy 
faces  so  long  denied  them  ?  To  Pops  and  Con- 


227 


nell  the  days  sped  swiftly  by,  because  they  wasted 
no  hours  in  idle  dreaming.  "With  them  the  watch 
word  was  ever,  "Act,  act  in  the  living  present." 

April  artillery  drills,  the  dash  and  whirl  and 
thunder  of  light  battery  work,  were  upon  them 
before  they  realized  it,  and  away  before  they- 
thought  it  possible.  But  there  was  drag  and 
trouble  and  tribulation  in  the  room  across  the 
hall. 

Narrowly  escaping  discharge  on  account  of 
demerit  in  January,  both  Frazier  and  his  room 
mate  began  the  new  year  with  a  whole  volume  of 
punishments  and  confinements.  "  Extras  breed 
extras"  used  to  be  the  saying  in  the  corps. 
There  was  a  time  during  Christmas  holidays 
when  Benny's  room  was  a  sort  of  "open  day 
and  night"  restaurant,  where  all  the  reckless 
spirits  in  the  battalion  were  assembled,  where 
demerit  seemed  to  live  in  the  air  and  be  carried 
like  microbes  of  disease  all  over  the  barracks.  On 
May  1st  it  was  known  that  Frazier  had  hardly 
three  demerit  to  run  on  until  the  1st  of  June,  and 
that  calculus  had  tripped  and  thrown  him  as 
predicted.  Down  to  the  second  section  went  the 
proud  head  of  the  year  before,  and  then  in  the 
midst  of  trials  at  the  Point  came  tidings  of  trib 
ulation  at  home.  Mr.  Frazier  senior  had  been 
taken  strangely  and  suddenly  ill;  had  suffered 
from  a  partial  stroke  of  paralysis.  Benny  ap- 


plied  for  leave  for  two  days.  The  superintend 
ent  telegraphed  for  particulars,  and  on  reply  re 
fused  the  application.  There  was  no  immediate 
danger,  said  the  physician.  There  had  been 
business  worries  and  losses,  but  the  stroke  was 
not  fatal. 

Then  Pops  and  Connell  noticed  that  Mr.  Jen 
nings,  who  still  hung  on  near  the  foot  of  his 
class,  was  paying  frequent  visits  to  Frazier  when 
the  latter,  being  in  confinement,  could  not  get 
out.  Twice  they  heard  high  words,  but  in  all 
the  excitement  of  the  coming  of  June  and  the 
examinations,  the  delirious  joy  of  trying  on  the 
civilian  dress  they  were  now  as  eager  to  appear 
in  as  they  were  to  get  out  of  it  and  into  "  cadets" 
two  years  before,  Benny's  affairs  attracted  little 
attention. 

At  last  came  graduating  day  of  the  First  Class, 
the  announcements  of  the  new  officers  in  the 
battalion,  and  Pops  and  Connell,  whose  chevrons 
as  corporals  rubbed  one  against  the  other  for  the 
last  time  in  the  ranks  of  the  color  guard  that 
morning,  shook  hands  the  instant  "rest"  was 
ordered,  the  centre  of  a  fire  of  chaff  and  con 
gratulation. 

"  The  firm  of  '  Badger  &  Coyote '  is  dis 
solved,"  laughed  Harry  Winn,  for  Connell  was 
promoted  first  sergeant  of  Company  D,  and  Geor- 
die,  who  called  the  roll  of  old  K  Troop  in  Ari- 


229 


zona  when  he  was  but  a  four-year-old,  was  des 
tined  for  a  year  to  do  similar  service  as  cadet 
first  sergeant  of  Company  B ;  "  and  I'd  rather 
have  you  than  any  man  I  know,"  said  his  new 
captain,  Bend,  the  first  sergeant  of  their  com 
pany  in  their  plebe  camp,  that  very  night. 

And  then  came  the  result  of  the  examination. 
Kising  to  thirty-first  in  mathematics,  thirtieth  in 
French,  and  twenty-second  in  drawing,  standing 
among  the  first  in  discipline,  Geordie  was  out  of 
the  thirties  and  into  the  twenties  at  last;  and 
two  days  later  he  and  Connell  —  the  happiest 
boys  in  all  America — were  speeding  westward 
together.  "First  sergeants  and  furlough-men, 
Pops,"  said  Con ;  "  who'd  'a'  thought  it  two  years 
ago  ?  Certainly  not  Frazier." 

Alas,  poor  Benny !  Loaded  down  with  de 
merit,  he  was  held  at  the  Point  when  his  class 
mates  scattered  for  home. 


CHAPTER  XV 

IF  there  is  a  happier  time  in  a  young  fellow's 
life  than  cadet  furlough,  I  do  not  know  where  to 
find  it.  Geordie's  home-coming  was  something 
there  is  little  room  to  tell  of  in  our  brief  story  of 
his  cadet  days.  Fort  Eeynolds  had  improved 
but  slightly  in  the  two  years  of  his  absence ; 
even  the  quartermaster  had  to  admit  that,  and 
lay  the  blame  on  Congress ;  but  Pops  had  im 
proved  very  much — very  much  indeed,  as  even 
his  erstwhile  rival,  young  Breifogle,  now  a  val 
ued  book-keeper  in  the  First  National  Bank, 
could  not  but  admit.  Mrs.  Graham's  pride  in 
her  stalwart  boy,  Buddie's  glory  in  his  big 
brother,  and  the  doctor's  stubborn  Scotch  effort 
not  to  show  his  satisfaction  were  all  matters  of 
kindly  comment  in  the  garrison.  After  a  few 
days,  during  which  he  was  seldom  out  of  his 
mother's  sight  or  hearing,  she  kissed  him  fondly, 
and  bade  him  get  to  his  mountaineering  again, 
for  she  knew  the  boy  longed  for  his  gun  and  the 
heart  of  the  Eockies.  He  could  have  had  half  of 
Lane's  troop  as  escort  and  companions  had  the 
wishes  of  the  men  been  consulted,  but  on  the 


231 


three  or  four  expeditions  Buddie,  at  least,  was 
ever  with  him ;  and  after  the  long  day's  ride  or 
tramp  the  boys  would  spread  their  blankets 
under  the  whispering  trees,  and,  feet  to  the  fire, 
Bud's  chin  in  his  hands,  and  adoring  Pops  with 
all  his  eyes,  there  for  an  hour  or  more  he  would 
coax  his  cadet  brother  for  story  after  story  of 
the  Point.  In  August  Connell  came  out  and 
spent  ten  delicious  days  with  them — the  first 
time  he  had  ever  set  foot  in  any  garrison ;  and 
it  was  lovely  to  see  how  Mrs.  Graham  rejoiced 
in  her  big  boy's  faithful  friend  and  chum ;  how 
Bud  admired,  yet  could  not  quite  understand 
how  or  why,  either  as  scholar  or  sergeant,  Con 
nell  could  or  should  stand  higher  than  Pops.  He 
pestered  both  by  the  hour  with  questions  about 
their  companies,  the  other  sergeants,  corporals, 
etc.  He  hung  to  them  by  day,  and  bitterly  re 
sented  having  to  be  separated  from  them  by 
night.  He  could  not  be  made  to  see  why  he 
should  not  go  everywhere  they  went,  do  every 
thing  they  did. 

Connell,  it  must  be  owned,  found  Bud  a  good 
deal  of  a  nuisance  at  times,  and  even  brother 
Geordie's  patience  was  sometimes  tried.  Bud 
was  too  big  and  aggressive  now  to  command 
sympathy,  otherwise  there  would  have  been 
something  actually  pathetic  in  his  grievance  at 
not  being  allowed  to  accompany  the  two  cadets 


232 


when  they  attended  certain  "  grown-up  "  parties 
to  which  they  were  invited  in  town.  The  offi 
cers  and  ladies  at  the  post  made  much  of  the 
young  fellows ;  McCrea  could  not  do  enough  for 
them;  and  as" for  the  troopers,  the  best  horses 
and  the  hounds  were  ever  at  their  service,  and 
old  Sergeant  Feeny  delighted  their  hearts  by 
always  insisting  on  "standing  attention"  and 
touching  his  cap  to  the  two  young  gentlemen. 
This  he  was  not  at  all  required  to  do,  as  they 
were  only  half-way  to  their  commissions,  as 
Geordie  blushingly  pointed  out  to  him. 

uBut  it's  proud  I  am  to  salute  ye,  sir,"  said 
the  veteran ;  "  and  then  don't  the  regulations  say 
a  cadet  ranks  any  sergeant  in  the  army?  Sure 
you  and  Mr.  Connell  are  my  supariors  in  law  if 
ye  are  my  juniors  in  years  and  chiverones." 

The  officers  gave  a  dance  one  evening,  and 
Pops  and  Connell,  as  was  perfectly  proper,  at 
tired  themselves  in  their  newest  gray  coats,  with 
the  gleaming  chevrons  and  lozenge  of  first  ser 
geants,  and  immaculate  white  trousers  set  off  by 
the  sash  of  crimson  silk  net.  The  ladies,  young 
and  old,  declared  the  cadet  uniform  far  more 
effective  than  the  army  blue ;  and  some  of  the 
young  matrons  who  had  first  seen  their  future 
husbands  when  wearing  the  cadet  gray  were  quite 
sentimentally  affected  at  sight  of  it  again.  Then 
there  were  three  or  four  very  pretty  girls  at  the 


BUT    IT'S   PROUD   I    AM    TO    SALUTE    YE,  SIR,1  SAID   THE   VETERAN  " 


fort,  visiting  their  army  home  for  vacation,  and 
others  in  town,  and  all  attended  the  hops ;  and 
both  Geordie  and  Connell  were  thankful  they 
had  been  so  well  drilled  in  dancing.  Altogether, 
they  had  ten  days  of  bliss  they  never  will  for 
get  ;  and  when  Connell  had  to  go,  everybody  at 
Keynolds  saw  that  Miss  Kitty  Willet,  the  major's 
bonny  blue-eyed  daughter,  was  wearing  on  her 
bangle  bracelet  a  new  bell  button  that  must  have 
come  from  right  over  Jim  Council's  heart. 

And  then,  all  too  soon  for  the  loving  mother, 
it  was  time  for  Pops  to  hasten  back  to  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson,  and  gird  up  his  loins  for  the  great 
race  of  the  third  year. 

"  Pops,"  said  McCrea,  "  you  are  going  back  to 
what  I  hold  to  be  the  hardest  of  the  four  years, 
and  going  withal  to  duties  which,  more  than  any 
others  in  the  cadet  battalion,  call  for  all  the  grit 
there  is  in  a  man.  A  young  fellow  who*  does  his 
whole  duty  as  first  sergeant  must  make  enemies 
among  the  careless,  the  slouchy,  and  the  stub 
born  in  his  company.  I  hold  that  no  position 
in  the  battalion  is  so  calculated  to  develop  all 
that  is  soldierly  and  manly  in  a  cadet  as  that  of 
first  sergeant.  There  are  always  upper  class  men 
who  expect  to  be  treated  with  consideration,  even 
when  they  set  bad  examples ;  then  there  are  year 
lings  always  trying  to  be  '.reekless '  just  to  excite 
the  envy  of  the  plebes.  You'll  find  it  the  tough- 


234 


est  place  you  ever  had  to  fill ;  but  go  at  it  with 
the  sole  idea  of  being  square  and  soldierly,  and  in 
spite  of  all  they  may  say  or  do  you'll  win  the  en 
during  respect  of  the  very  men  who  may  buck 
against  you  and  abuse  you  in  every  way.  As  for 
popularity,  throw  all  idea  of  it  to  the  winds ;  it 
isn't  worth  having.  Teach  them  to  respect  you, 
and  their  esteem  and  affection  will  certainly  fol 
low." 

Again  and  again,  on  the  long  way  back  to  the 
Point,  Geordie  pondered  over  what  his  friend  had 
said,  and  made  up  his  mind  to  act  accordingly. 

"  Sergeant-major  may  sound  bigger,"  said  Con- 
nell,  as  the  two  comrades,  reunited  on  the  jour 
ney,  were  having  their  last  night's  chat  together 
in  the  sleeper, "  but  in  point  of  importance  in  the 
corps  of  cadets  it  simply  isn't  in  it  alongside  that 
of  first  sergeant.  My  father  can't  break  himself 
of  the  old  fashions  of  the  war  days.  He  was  '  or 
derly  '  sergeant,  as  they  called  it  in  '61,  and  he 
takes  more  stock  in  my  being '  orderly '  than  my 
being  in  the  5's." 

One  day  later  and  they  were  again  in  uniform 
and  on  duty,  and  Pops  found  himself  calmly  look 
ing  over  his  company,  just  seventy  strong.  The 
very  first  names  he  saw  gave  him  a  twinge  of  pre 
monition  —  Frazier  and  Jennings.  The  latter, 
found  deficient  in  one  of  his  studies  and  accord 
ed  a  re  -  examination  in  June,  had  been  turned 


235 


back  to  join  the  new  Second  Class ;  and  he  and 
Frazier  had  decided  to  live  together  in  Company 
B,  taking  a  third-floor  area  room  in  the  fourth 
division,  while  Geordie,  with  Ames  for  his  mate, 
moved  in  opposite  Cadet  Captain  Bend,  who  occu 
pied  the  tower  room  on  the  second  floor.  Every 
body  was  surprised  at  Jennings's  transfer  from 
Company  A,  where  he  had  served  three  years,  to 
B,  with  whose  captain  and  first  sergeant  both  he 
had  had  difficulty  in  the  past.  Moreover,  there 
was  no  little  comment  on  his  living  with  Frazier, 
for  the  few  who  are  known  as  "  turnbacks  "  in 
the  corps  are  usually  most  tenacious  about  living 
with  some  member  of  their  original  class.  But 
Randal,  the  new  first  captain,  was  glad  to  get  so 
turbulent  a  spirit  as  Jennings  out  of  his  ranks, 
and  Jennings  was  of  such  a  height  as  to  enable 
him  to  fit  in  very  well,  as  the  battalion  was  sized 
in  those  days  on  the  left  of  A  or  the  right 
of  B. 

Frazier1  s  class  rank  was  now  only  17.  A  story 
was  in  circulation  that  he  had  written  to  no  less 
than  five  of  the  class,  begging  them  to  room  with 
him,  and  promising  to  "  brace  up"  this  year;  but 
this  was  confidential  matter,  and  the  cadets  whose 
names  were  given  could  neither  affirm  nor  deny. 
One  thing  was  certain :  Frazier  had  not  been  ben 
efited  by  his  furlough.  He  was  looking  sallow 
and  out  of  condition.  His  father's  health  showed 


236 


no  improvement,  so  he  told  his  chums ;  neither 
did  his  father's  affairs,  but  this  he  told  nobody. 
Like  a  number  of  other  deluded  people,  Benny 
believed  wealth  essential  to  high  repute. 

For  the  first  week  no  friction  was  apparent. 
Pops  had  speedily  memorized  his  roster,  and 
mapped  out  his  plans  for  the  daily  routine.  He 
had  to  attend  guard -mounting  every  morning 
now,  which  took  away  something  like  forty  min 
utes  from  possible  study-time,  and  perhaps  twen 
ty  minutes  to  half  an  hour  were  needed  in  mak 
ing  out  the  morning  reports  and  other  papers. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  had  the  benefit  of  more 
exercise  by  day,  and  a  light  after  taps  until  eleven 
o'clock.  All  through  the  Fourth  Class  year  ca 
dets  are  compelled  to  attend  daily  gymnastic  ex 
ercise  under  a  most  skilful  teacher ;  after  that  it  is 
optional,  and,  as  all  get  a  fair  amount  of  out-door 
work  except  during  the  winter  months,  very  many 
cadets  fail  to  keep  up  the  training  of  the  plebe 
year.  ISTot  so  Pops  and  Connell.  Kegularly  ev 
ery  day  these  young  athletes  put  in  half  an  hour 
with  the  Indian  clubs,  determined  that  when  the 
drills  were  discontinued  they  would  keep  up  sys 
tematic  training  in  the  "  gym."  But  within  the 
first  fortnight  after  their  return  to  barracks,  Con 
nell,  coming  over  to  compare  notes  as  usual,  quiet 
ly  said  they  might  as  well  add  sparring  to  the  list. 

"  We  may  need  that  more  than  we  think,  Pops. 


237 


That  fellow  Jennings  is  stirring  up  trouble,  un 
less  I  am  mistaken." 

Now  there  are  all  manner  of  little  points  against 
which  a  cadet  first  sergeant  has  constantly  to  be 
warring,  or  his  company  will  become  lax  and  un- 
soldierly.  Unless  promptly  and  firmly  met,  there 
are  always  a  number  of  old  cadets  who  want  to 
saunter  to  their  places  at  drum-beat,  who  will  be, 
if  allowed,  always  just  a  little  slow,  whose  coats 
are  not  buttoned  throughout  or  collars  not  ad 
justed  when  they  fall  in,  who  are  unsteady  in 
ranks,  who  answer  to  their  names  either  bois 
terously  or  ludicrously,  who  slouch  through  the 
manual  when  not  actually  on  parade,  holding  it 
to  be  undignified  in  an  old  cadet  to  observe  the 
motions  like  a  plebe,  who  are  never  closed  up  to 
the  proper  distance  at  the  final  tap  of  the  drum — 
in  fine,  in  a  dozen  little  ways,  unless  the  first  ser 
geant  is  fearless  and  vigilant,  and  demands  equal 
vigilance  of  his  assistants,  the  morale  of  the  com 
pany  is  bound  to  go  down.  First  Class  men  and 
yearlings  are  generally  the  men  at  fault ;  plebes, 
as  a  rule,  do  the  best  they  know  how,  for  other 
wise  no  mercy  is  shown  them. 

Very  much  in  this  way  did  the  "  custom " 
strike  Connell  and  Pops.  What  with  roll-calls, 
recitations,  riding,  and  the  brisk  evening  drills 
and  parade,  Geordie  had  no  time  to  think  of  any 
thing  beyond  his  duties.  But  Connell  said  that 


238 


Jennings  had  been  over  talking  to  some  of  his 
former  class-mates,  who  were  old  stagers  in  Com 
pany  D,  and  who  were  doing  a  good  deal  of  talk 
ing  now  among  themselves  about  the  impropriety 
of  appointing  as  their  first  sergeant  a  fellow  from 
the  right  wing  of  the  battalion  who  was  not  im 
bued  with  the  time-honored  tenets  and  traditions 
of  the  left-flank  company.  First  Class  men,  said 
they,  had  always  enjoyed  certain  privileges,  as  be 
came  gentlemen  of  their  high  standing,  who  were 
to  become  officers  in  less  than  a  year,  and  one  day 
it  was  decided  they  should  sound  Connell  as  to 
what  his  views  might  be,  and  the  result  was  not 
at  all  to  their  liking.  Connell  couldn't  be  made 
to  see  that,  because  they  were  speedily  to  don  the 
army  blue,  they  should  meantime  be  allowed  to 
discredit  the  cadet  gray. 

__ "  There's  no  reason  that  I  can  see,"  said  Con 
nell,  "why  First  Class  men  shouldn't  be  just  as 
soldierly  in  ranks  as  other  cadets,  and  every  rea 
son  why  they  should." 

Then  a  B  Company  committee  of  two  infor 
mally  dropped  in  on  Pops  with  a  similar  query, 
and  got  almost  the  same  answer.  Whereupon 
the  committee  said  that  the  class  had  taken 
counsel  together  on  the  subject.  They  courted 
no  trouble  whatever,  but  simply  gave  Graham  to 
understand  that  it  wasn't  "  customary  "  to  hold  a 
First  Class  man  in  the  ranks  to  the  same  rigid 


239 


performance  of  the  manual  and  the  same  precise 
carriage  that  would  be  exacted  of  a  plebe.  Nei 
ther  could  they  be  held  to  strict  account  in  such 
trivial  affairs  as  falling  in  for  roll-call  with  coats 
unbuttoned  or  collars  awry  or  belts  twisted,  or  for 
other  little  matters  of  the  kind,  and  any  reports 
given  them  for  such  would  be  "  regarded  as  per 
sonal."  Whereupon  they  took  their  leave,  and 
Geordie  met  Con  with  a  broad  Scotch  grin  on 
his  face. 

"Jennings  is  at  the  bottom  of  it  all,"  said 
Connell.  "  He  wants  them,  however,  to  start 
the  move  over  in  D  Company,  because  he  can't 
initiate  anything  of  the  kind  under  Bend.  You 
understand." 

"  Well,  to  my  thinking,  and  according  to  the 
way  I  was  brought  up,"  said  Geordie,  "  such 
specimens  should  be  court  -  martialled  and  dis 
missed  the  service.  Men  who  have  no  higher 
idea  of  duty  than  that  are  not  fit  to  be  officers 
in  the  army." 

"  We-el,"  said  philosopher  Con,  "  they  are  boys 
only  a  little  older  than  plebes,  so  jfer  as  knowl 
edge  of  the  world  is  concerned.  The  more  I 
look  at  it  the  more  I  see  just  how  comically  ju 
venile  we  are  in  a  way.  When  we  were  plebes, 
dozens  of  our  class  were  never  going  to  speak  to 
those  fellows  of  the  yearlings,  and  never,  never 
going  to  devil  plebes.  Within  a  year  most  of 


240 


us  were  hobnobbing  with  the  class  above  and 
lording  it  over  the  class  below.  As  yearlings, 
lots  of  our  fellows  hated  the  first  sergeants,  who 
made  us  stand  round,  and  we  weren't  going  to 
have  anything  to  do  with  them.  Now  we  who 
are  sergeants  not  only  mean  to  make  the  year 
lings  toe  the  mark,  but  the  First  Class  men  as 
well,  and  they  are  going  to  force  a  fight  on  us 
for  doing  the  very  thing  that  in  three  or  four 
years  from  now  any  one  of  their  number  who 
happens  to  be  on  duty  here  as  an  instructor  will 
report  a  first  sergeant  for  not  doing.  The  whole 
corps  says  that  when  'iV  comes  back  here  as 
an  officer  it  won't  forget  it  ever  was  a  cadet,  as 
every  officer  seems  to  do  the  moment  he  gets 
here,  and  you  can  bet  your  sash  and  chevrons  it 
will  do  just  exactly  as  the  officers  seem  to  do  to 
day.  Now  these  fellows  have  an  overweening 
idea  of  their  importance  because  they  are  so  soon 
to  be  graduates.  That  seems  something  very 
big  from  our  point  of  view,  and  yet  about  the 
first  thing  a  second  lieutenant  has  to  learn  when 
he  gets  to  his  regiment  is  that  he  doesn't  amount 
to  a  hill  of  beans.  He's  nothing  but  a  plebe  all 
over  again.  There's  Jim  Forester  ;  when  he  was 
cadet  officer  of  the  day  and  we  were  plebes, 
didn't  we  think  him  just  a  little  tin  god  on 
wheels?  Recollect  what  a  bully  voice  he  had, 
and  how  he  used  to  swing  old  D  Company  ?  But 


241 


what  did  he  amount  to  at  Fort  Reynolds  last 
summer  ?  Nothing  but  a  low-down  second  lieu 
tenant  going  on  as  officer  of  the  guard,  drilling 
squads,  and — do  you  remember  how  the  colonel 
jumped  him  that  morning  for  some  error  in  the 
guard  list  ?  Why,  Geordie,  you  and  I  were  of 
much  more  account  at  the  fort  than  he  was.  And 
now  here  are  these  fellows  kicking  against  the 
pricks.  They  don't  want  to  be  soldierly,  because 
it's  too  plebelike  in  view  of  their  coming  shoul 
der-straps.  We-el,  they've  just  got  to,  that's  all 
there  is  about  it.  Where  are  the  gloves  ?" 

And  with  that  the  two  Westerners  doffed  their 
coats,  donned  the  "  mittens,'5  and  hammered  away 
at  each  other  as  they  were  in  daily  habit  of  do 
ing,  and  had  been  doing  more  or  less  for  many 
a  month  of  their  Third  Class  year,  Sayers  and 
other  experts  coaching  and  occasionally  taking 
hold  for  a  brisk  round  or  two  on  their  own  ac 
count.  It  was  well  understood  that  both  Badger 
and  Coyote  were  in  tip  -  top  trim  and  training. 
Meanwhile  no  trouble  occurred  in  Council's  com 
pany  worth  speaking  of,  and  little  of  consequence 
in  B,  but  it  was  brewing.  Three  or  four  sen 
iors  had  been  deservedly  reported  for  minor 
offences  exactly  as  Geordie  said  they  should  be, 
but  they  were  gentlemen  who  took  it  without 
audible  comment  and  as  a  matter  of  course. 
Then  came  an  experiment.  Mr.  Curry,  a  First 

16 


242 


Class  man  of  rather  slender  build  and  reputation, 
one  of  the  Jennings  set,  backed  deliberately  into 
ranks  one  morning  at  reveille,  and  stood  there 
leisurely  buttoning  his  coat,  glancing  at  Graham 
out  of  the  corner  of  his  eye.  Geordie  had  just 
about  reached  the  B's  in  his  roll,  and  stopped 
short. 

"  Curry,  fall  out  and  button  that  coat." 

Curry  reddened,  but  did  not  budge. 

Pops  budged,  but  did  not  redden.  If  anything 
he  was  a  trifle  paler  as  he  stepped  quickly  over 
opposite  the  left  of  the  company.  His  voice  was 
low  and  firm : 

"  Curry,  fall  out  at  once  and  button  that 
coat." 

Only  two  buttons  were  by  this  time  left  un 
fastened.  It  took  but  a  second  to  snap  them 
into  place.  And  then— 

"  My  coat  is  buttoned,"  said  Curry. 

"  It  was  unbuttoned  throughout  when  you  fell 
in  ranks,  and  you  know  it.  You  also  heard  my 
order  to  fall  out,  and  disobeyed  it,"  was  Graham's 
answer.  Then  back  to  his,  post  he  went,  finished 
roll  -  call,  reported  "  All  present,  sir,"  to  Cadet 
Captain  Bend,  who  had  silently  watched  the  af 
fair,  very  possibly  thinking  it  just  as  well  to  let 
Graham  settle  it  for  himself.  And  the  next 
night  after  parade  the  following  reports  were 
read  out  in  the  clear  tones  of  the  cadet  adjutant : 


"  Curry — Buttoning  coat  in  ranks  at  reveille. 

"  Same — Continuing  same  after  being  ordered 
to  fall  out. 

"Same — Keplying  to  first  sergeant  from  ranks 
at  same." 

Before  Graham  had  thrown  off  his  belts  Mr. 
Jennings  appeared,  and  with  much  majesty  of 
mien  proceeded  to  say : 

"Mr.  Graham,  you  have  taken  advantage  of 
Mr.  Curry's  size,  and  in  his  name  and  in  that 
of  the  First  Class  I  am  here  to  demand  satis 
faction." 

"  Go  for  Connell,"  said  Geordie,  with  a  quiet 
nod  to  Ames. 

Next  morning  Mr.  Jennings  did  not  appear 
at  reveille  at  all.  It  seems  that  the  demand  was 
honored  at  sight.  Cadet  Captain  Bend  cut  sup 
per  and  risked  his  chevrons  to  see  that  fight. 
Connell's  heart  was  up  in  his  mouth  just  about 
half  the  time  as  he  seconded  his  sergeant  com 
rade.  It  was  a  long-fought,  longer  remembered 
battle,  and  ended  only  within  five  minutes  of 
call  to  quarters  —  Jennings  at  last,  as  had  been 
predicted  two  years  before,  utterly  used  up,  and 
Geordie,  though  bruised  and  battered,  still  in  the 
ring. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

TIME  flies  at  the  Point,  even  in  the  hardest 
year  of  the  four,  as  McCrea  had  called  that  of 
the  Second  Class.  "What  with  mechanics  and 
chemistry,  "tactics"  and  drawing,  riding  and 
drills,  winter  was  upon  them  before  our  boys 
fairly  realized  it.  Every  day  seemed  to  make 
Graham  feel  more  assured  in  his  position,  and  to 
strengthen  the  esteem'  in  which  he  was  held. 
The  cabal  of  the  few  First  Class  men  had  re 
acted  upon  the  originators  like  a  boomerang. 
Jennings  was  in  hospital  a  full  week,  and  Curry 
walked  punishment  tours  until  January.  Now, 
while  Jennings  was  probably  not  the  best  man, 
pugilistically  speaking,  whom  they  could  put  up 
against  the  first  sergeants,  the  better  men  were 
as  sound  morally  and  mentally  as  they  were 
physically.  Some  of  them  expressed  regret  that 
Graham  felt  it  his  duty  to  make  such  serious  re 
ports  against  their  class-mate,  but  it  was  con 
ceded  by  every  soldier  and  gentleman  that  Curry 
had  brought  it  all  on  himself.  As  for  Jennings, 
he  richly  deserved  the  thrashing  that  he  had  re 
ceived,  and  a  more  humiliated  and  astonished 


245 


fellow  there  was  not  in  the  corps.  There  was  no 
more  trouble  in  Company  B.  Geordie  ruled  it 
with  a  hand  that  never  shook,  yet  without  the 
faintest  bluster  or  show  of  triumph.  The  First 
Class  men,  as  a  rule,  were  a  very  pleasant  set, 
with  a  pride  in  their  company,  a  pride  in  the 
corps,  and  a  readiness  to  sustain  Graham ;  and 
so  he  and  his  fellow-sergeants  were  spared  fur 
ther  complication  of  that  description.  "  In  time 
of  peace  prepare  for  war,  however,"  laughed  Con- 
nell.  "  There's  no  surer  way  of  keeping  the  peace 
than  being  ready  for  anything  that  may  turn  up." 
Almost  before  they  knew  it  the  short  days  and 
the  long,  long  evenings  were  upon  them  again. 
Mechanics  and  chemistry  seemed  to  grow  harder, 
but  Graham  had  gained  confidence  and  his  in 
structors  wisdom.  They  found  that  by  digging 
under  the  surface  there  was  much  more  to  Geor- 
die's  knowledge  of  a  subject  than  was  at  first 
apparent,  and  his  mind  as  well  worth  cultivating 
as  many  a  quicker  soil.  As  for  the  corps,  it  is 
remarkable  how  many  there  were  who  knew  all 
along  that  Jennings  was  a  vastly  overrated,  over 
confident  fellow,  whose  fame  was  based  on  vic 
tories  over  lighter  weights,  and  whose  condition 
had  been  running  down  as  steadily  as  Coyote's 
had  been  building  up.  In  his  own  class  Geor 
die  was  now  the  object  of  an  almost  enthusiastic 
regard,  while  the  plebes  looked  upon  him  with 


246 


hero-worship  most  extravagant.  He  had  his 
enemies,  as  strong  and  dutiful  men  must  ever 
have,  but  they  were  of  such  a  class  as  Curry  and 
Frazier  and  Jennings.  "  And  what  decent  man  in 
the  corps  cares  for  the  ill-will  of  such  as  they  ?'' 
asked  Ames.  "It's  proof  of  a  fellow's  supe 
riority." 

Midwinter  came,  and  one  day  Frazier  was 
"  wired  "  for  suddenly.  "  Bad  news  from  home," 
said  Jennings,  in  explanation,  when  the  battal 
ion  was  gathering  between  the  first  and  second 
drums  for  dinner.  This  time  the  superintendent 
did  not  deny  a  leave,  but  extended  it  a  few  days 
to  enable  the  boy  to  remain  for  his  father's  fu 
neral.  Benny  came  back  looking  years  older, 
sallow,  and  unhealthy.  The  broad,  deep  mourn 
ing  band  on  his  left  arm  was  explanation  of  his 
non-appearance  at  the  Thanksgiving  hop.  Geor- 
die,  Ames,  and  Connell  went  over  to  look  on  and 
hear  the  music. 

"We'll  have  to  be  doing  this  sort  of  thing 
next  year,  Pops,"  said  Connell,  "  so  we  may  as 
well  go  and  pick  up  pointers."  There  were  not 
many  girl  visitors — at  least,  not  enough  for  the 
cavaliers  of  the  senior  class,  so  that  many  of  the 
corps  did  not  dance  at  all.  About  ten  o'clock 
Graham  decided  he  had  seen  enough  and  would 
go  home  to  study  a  while.  The  wind  was  blow 
ing  hard  from  the  east.  There  was  a  mild,  pallid 


247 


moon  vainly  striving  to  peep  through  a  swift- 
sailing  fleet  of  scud,  and  throwing  a  faint,  ghost 
ly  light  over  the  barracks  and  guard-house.  Out 
from  the  shadows  of  the  stone-wall  back  of  the 
mess  building  suddenly  appeared  a  figure  in  the 
cadet  overcoat  with  the  cape  thrown  over  his 
head.  Catching  sight  of  Graham,  and  recog 
nizing  apparently  his  step  and  form,  the  figure 
slipped  back  again  whence  it  came,  but  not  so 
quickly  that  Pops  did  not  know  it  was  Benny 
Frazier.  Half  a  minute  later,  as  he  sprang  up 
the  steps  of  the  fourth  division,  he  came  upon 
two  cadets  standing  just  within  the  doorway— 
plebes. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Graham,"  said  one,  "  the  officer  of 
the  day  is  inspecting  for  men  in  confinement, 
and  Mr.  Jennings  and  Mr.  Frazier  are  both  out." 

Not  an  instant  was  to  be  lost.  Pops  could 
hear  the  clink  of  the  cadet  sword  and  the  slam 
of  doors  in  the  second  division.  In  two  min 
utes  the  officer  would  be  over  in  the  fourth,  and 
"  Benny  and  Jenny,"  as  the  pair  were  occasion 
ally  termed,  would  be  "hived"  absent.  Arrest 
and  heavy  punishment  must  surely  follow.  Pops 
never  stopped  to  follow  the  chain  of  thought. 
Back  he  sped  on  the  wings  of  the  wind.  Five 
seconds  and  he  reached  the  corner.  Not  a  sign 
of  the  recent  prowler,  yet  Geordie  felt  sure 
he  had  seen  Frazier  dart  back  behind  that  wall 


248 


barely  half  a  minute  before  —  engaged  in  some 
clandestine  bargaining  with  one  of  his  messengers 
from  the  Falls,  probably  —  and  Jennings  with 
him.  Not  a  sign  of  the  party  down  the  dark, 
narrow  lane  behind  the  wall,  not  a  sign  of  them 
up  the  grassy  slope  to  the  west  back  of  the  area 
retaining  wall. 

"  Frazier !  Jennings !  Quick !"  he  called,  loud 
enough  to  attract  their  attention  if  they  were 
near  at  hand. 

No  answer. 

It  was  off  limits  if  he  ventured  either  way, 
west  or  south,  from  the  corner  where  he  stood, 
and  "off  chevrons"  if  caught.  Why  risk  his 
prospects  for  First  Class  year  to  save  men  who 
had  ever  been  his  enemies,  and  never  would  have 
lifted  a  hand  to  save  him?  Only  the  swaying  of 
the  branches  and  the  sweep  of  the  wind  answered 
his  excited  hail.  Not  an  instant  to  lose !  Bound 
ing  up  the  westward  path  he  ran  until  beyond 
the  guard-house,  and  there  came  suddenly  upon 
a  shadowy  group  of  four. 

"  Back  to  your  room,  Frazier !  Inspection !" 
he  gasped,  halting  short. 

Two  cadets  rushed  at  the  word.  The  two 
other  forms  slunk  away,  as  though  seeking  to 
hide  themselves  among  the  trees  up  the  hill-side. 
One  was  a  civilian,  a  stranger  to  him ;  the  other 
the  drummer  with  whom  Frazier  had  had  the 


249 


altercation  more  than  a  year  previous.  What 
were  they  doing  now?  Graham  never  stopped 
to  have  a  word  with  them.  Quickly  he  retraced 
his  steps,  and  succeeded  in  regaining  the  area 
unnoticed.  The  officer  of  the  day  was  just  com 
ing  out  of  the  fourth  division  as  Geordie  went 
in. 

"  Hello,  Coyote  !  Tired  of  the  light  fantastic  ? 
or  didn't  you  hop  to-night  ?"  he  jovially  asked. 

"  Had  to  come  back  to  bone,"  was  the  reply. 

It  was  evident  from  the  cheery  manner  that 
nothing  had  been  found  amiss.  The  pair  had 
managed  to  reach  their  den  in  safety,  then ;  yet 
only  in  the  nick  of  time.  Geordie  went  to  his 
room  and  to  work,  yet  the  thought  of  that  un 
seemly  stolen  interview  between  Frazier  and 
Jennings,  the  drummer  and  the  stranger,  kept 
intruding  itself  upon  his  mind.  Presently  a 
stealthy  step  came  down  the  stair  and  to  his 
door.  Enter  Frazier,  still  pale,  still  nervous  and 
palpitating. 

"  Graham,  you  did  me  a  great  service — me  and 
Jennings — to-night.  I — I  know — we  haven't 
got  along  as  well  as  we  should,  and  I  suppose  I 
am  partially  to  blame ;  but  I  don't  want  you  to 
think  I  can't  appreciate  the  risk  you  ran  to  save 
us,  though  either  of  us,  of  course,  would  have 
done  as  much  for  you — any  time.  You  know 
that,  I  hope.  We  had  some  business  out  there, 


250 


and  d-did-  you  see  the  others  —  so  as  to  know 
them  ?" 

"  I  knew  the  drummer  well  enough,"  said 
Graham,  his  b]ue  eyes  full  on  Benny's  nervous 
face. 

"  Well,  the  other  one's  a  cit.  who's  doing  some 
thing  for  us.  Say,  one  good  turn  deserves  an 
other.  Don't  tell  anybody,  about  where  you 
saw  us,  or  who  were  with  us,  will  you?  I 
wouldn't  like  it  to  get  out  on  Jennings's  account. 
He's  got  to  work  like  a  dog  to  graduate,  as  it  is." 

And  before  Graham  could  answer,  in  came 
Ames,  astonished  at  sight  of  Frazier,  and  to  him 
Benny  began  a  hurried  explanation  of  how  Pops 
had  heard  of  the  inspection,  and  had  rushed  down 
to  warn  him.  Then  saying  "  Eemember  what  I 
asked  you"  to  Graham,  he  awkwardly  let  him 
self  out. 

"  How  are  the  mighty  fallen !"  soliloquized 
Ames,  as  Benny  disappeared.  "  They  say  he's 
going  'way  down  in  both  Phil,  and  Chem.  in 
January.  He  has  no  French  to  help  him  now. 
Benton  thinks  he'll  tumble  into  the  low  thirties. 
What  did  he  want  of  you  ?" 

"  Nothing  to  speak  of,"  answered  Pops,  with 
that  quiet  grin  of  his.  "  He-e — said  he  came  to 
thank  me  for  giving  that  warning." 

"  Oh,  thanks  be  bio  wed !  He  never  came  to 
thank  you,  Pops.  That  was  only  a  pretext.  He 


251 


came  to  ask  you  to  do  or  not  to  do  something 
on  his  account,  and  I  know  it." 

So  did  Geordie,  by  this  time,  but  could  not 
say  so. 

Four  days  after  this  episode  leave  of  absence 
from  9.30  A.M.  until  11  P.M.  was  granted  Cadet 
Frazier  on  urgent  personal  business.  A  letter 
from  an  executor  of  the  Frazier  estate  was  the 
means  of  getting  the  order.  It  was  known  in 
the  corps  that,  being  now  twenty-one,  Benny  was 
master  of  some  little  property,  though  nowhere 
near  what  he  had  expected  would  be  his  own. 
Making  all  allowances  for  the  sadness  and  de 
pression  naturally  following  the  loss  of  a  loved 
parent,  it  was  remarked  that  every  day  seemed 
to  add  to  the  trouble  and  dejection  in  Frazier's 
sallow  face.  He  took  little  exercise,  except  the 
enforced  tramp  in  the  area  on  Saturday  after 
noons.  He  smoked  incessantly.  He  seemed 
petulant  and  miserable  in  Jennings's  society,  yet 
Jennings  was  his  inseparable  companion.  Wher 
ever  he  went,  there  was  Jennings.  "  What  in  the 
world  is  the  tie  that  binds  those  two  ?"  was  the 
question  often  asked.  They  were  utterly  unlike. 
Their  antecedents  were  widely  opposed.  Frazier 
had  been  reared  in  luxury  and  refinement ;  Jen 
nings  in  nobody  knew  just  what.  He  was  the 
representative  of  one  of  the  "toughest"  con 
gressional  districts,  originally  known  as  the  San- 


252 


guinary  Second,  in  a  crowded  metropolis.  He 
was  smart  in  a  certain  way  that  spoke  of  long 
association  with  the  street  Arab  and  saloon 
sports.  He  was  useful  in  plebe  days  when  his 
class  was  standing  up  for  what  few  rights  a 
plebe  is  conceded  to  have,  but  lost  caste  as  rapid 
ly  as  his  comrades  gained  wisdom.  Only  among 
the  few  weaklings  of  the  Curry  stamp  had  he  a 
vestige  of  influence  left  before  the  long-expected 
fight  with  Graham,  and  after  that  and  his  utter 
and  unlooked-for  defeat  his  name  seemed  held 
only  in  derision.  Yet  he  lorded  it  over  Frazier. 
"You  can  hear  them  snapping  and  snarling  at 
one  another  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night," 
said  their  near  neighbors.  "If  Frazier  hates 
him  so,  why  on  earth  doesn't  he  '  shake '  him  ? 
They're  getting  enough  demerit  between  them 
to  swamp  half  a  dozen  men."  These  comments 
were  almost  universal. 

By  this  time  Frazier's  downward  course  had 
brought  him,  both  in  philosophy  and  chemistry, 
into  Geordie's  sections.  Once  in  a  while  he 
would  rouse  himself  and  make  a  brilliant  reci 
tation,  but  as  a  rule  he  seemed  apathetic,  even 
reckless.  Time  and  again  the  young  fellow's 

O  t/  O 

dark-rimmed  eyes  were  fixed  upon  his  old  plebe 
room  -  mate's  face  with  such  a  hungry,  wistful, 
woful  look  that  it  haunted  Geordie  for  days. 
Every  time  the  latter  surprised  him  in  the  act, 


253 


however,  Benny  would  turn  quickly  and  deject 
edly  away.  But  more  than  once  Graham  almost 
made  up  his  mind  to  go  and  beg  the  boy  to  say 
what  was  his  trouble,  and  let  him  help  him  out. 

At  last  the  opportunity  came.  It  was  just  be 
fore  the  January  Examination.  Going  one  night 
to  Frazier's  room  to  notify  him  of  a  change  in 
the  guard  detail,  he  found  Benny  alone  at  the 
table,  his  head  buried  in  his  arms,  his  attitude  one 
of  hopelessness  and  despair.  He  sprang  up  the 
instant  he  heard  Geordie's  voice. 

"I  —  I  —  thought  it  was  Jennings,"  he  stam 
mered,  all  confusion.  "  What's  wanted  ?" 

"  I  came  to  tell  you  Ewen  would  go  on  sick 
report,  and  you'd  have  to  march  on  guard  in  his 
place." 

This  was  said  at  the  door.  Then,  impulsively 
stepping  forward,  Graham  laid  a  hand  on  his 
shoulder. 

"But,  Frazier,  I  hate  to  see  you  looking  so 
miserable.  If  you're  in  trouble,  can't  you  let  us 
help  you  out  ?  There  are  plenty  of  fellows  left 
to  be  your  friends.  It  doesn't  become  me  to  say 
anything  against  your  room-mate,  but  lots  of  us 
think  you  would  do  well  to  cut  loose  from  him." 

"  Cut  loose — from  him  ?"  wailed  Benny,  wring 
ing  his  hands,  and  turning  to  Geordie  with  a 
look  in  his  dark  eyes  Pops  can  never  forget. 
"  Oh,  if  I  only—"  But  there  he  stopped  abrupt- 


254 


ly,  and  turned  quickly  away.  Jennings  came 
frowning  in,  his  angry  eyes  full  of  suspicion  as 
they  glowered  at  Pops. 

"  To  what  circumstance  do  we  owe  the  honor 
of  this  visit  ?"  asked  he,  in  attempted  imitation 
of  the  theatrical  heroes  of  his  *acquaintance. 

Geordie  calmly  looked  him  over  a  moment, 
but  never  deigned  reply.  Then  turned  to  Ben 
ny.  "  Frazier,"  said  he,  as  he  moved  quietly  to 
the  door,  aany  time  you  feel  like  dropping  in 
on  Ames  and  me,  come,  and  be  sure  of  a  wel 
come."  Then,  with  another  cool  glance  at  Jen 
nings,  but  without  speaking  one  word  to  him,  he 
left  the  room. 

That  night — a  bitter  cold  December  night  it 
was — Pops  had  just  finished  telling  Ames  of  the 
strange  state  of  things  as  he  found  them  on  his 
visit  to  Frazier ;  the  tattoo  drums  were  hammer 
ing  through  the  area  and  drowning  other  sounds ; 
the  inspector  of  the  upper  subdivision  had  come 
down  into  Bend's  room  to  have  a  chat  with  his 
fellow-officer,  when  the  drums  stopped  with  one 
abrupt  and  unanimous  slam,  and  as  they  did  so 
Graham's  eyes  dilated,  and  he  sprang  to  his 
feet. 

A  gasping,  half-articulate  cry  and  the  sound 
of  scuffling  feet  came  from  the  third  floor. 
Geordie  could  have  sworn  he  heard  his  name. 
Out  he  went,  up  the  iron  stairs  he  flew,  and  into 


255 


utter  darkness.  The  hall  light  was  doused  as 
his  foot  spurned  the  lowermost  step.  Whirling 
at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  he  sped  to  Frazier's 
door,  other  cadets  rushing  at  his  heels.  There 
was  Benny,  with  livid  face,  struggling  in  the 
grasp  of  his  burly  room-mate,  whose  muscular 
hands  were  choking,  strangling  at  poor  Frazier's 
throat.  One  blow  from  Graham's  fist  sent  the 
big  bully  reeling  across  the  room  ;  while  Benny, 
suddenly  released,  fell  all  of  a  heap  on  the 
floor. 

"  You  brute !  How  dare  you  grapple  a  little 
fellow  like  that  ?"  was  all  Pops  had  time  to  say 
before  Bend  and  his  lieutenant  came  bounding 
in  behind  him. 

"  Back,  Jennings !  Down  with  him !"  ordered 
Bend,  as  the  maddened  "  tough  "  sprang  to  the 
arm -rack  and  seized  his  rifle.  Half  a  dozen 
hands  collared  him  before  he  could  draw  the 
bayonet.  He  backed  into  a  corner,  his  young 
captain  facing  him. 

"  Stand  where  you  are,  sir,"  was  the  stern  or 
der.  "  What  does  all  this  mean  ?  What  has  he 
done  to  you,  Frazier  ?" 

Geordie  and  Ames  were  raising  Benny  by 
this  time.  He  was  faint,  bleeding  at  the  mouth 
and  ears,  speechless,  and  out  of  breath. 

"  Give  him  some  water  and  lay  him  down  on 
the  bed.  Don't  crowd  around  him.  He  needs 


256 


air.  Get  out,  all  of  you !"  and  Bend  turned  on 
the  rapidly  increasing  crowd.  "Back  to  your 
quarters !"  And  then  the  rattle  of  cadet  swords 
could  be  heard  against  the  iron  stairway — the 
sergeant  of  the  guard  racing  to  the  scene,  fol 
lowed  by  the  officer  of  the  day. 

"He  insulted  and  defied  me,"  growled  Jen 
nings,  glowering  about  on  the  circle  of  hostile 
faces.  "He  insulted  my  people,  my  kith  and 
kin.  I  dare  him  to  deny  it,  or  to  tell  what  led 
to  this.  Take  your  hands  off  of  me,  you  fel 
lows  ;  I'm  no  criminal.  If  you're  laying  for  a 
thief,  there's  your  game  yonder,"  he  said,  indi 
cating  his  prostrate  room-mate. 

"  Shut  up,  Jennings,"  ordered  Bend ;  "  that's 
cowardly." 

"  Cowardly,  is  it  ?  You'll  rue  those  words,  my 
fine  fellow.  I  thrashed  you  well  once,  and  I've 
just  been  praying  for  another  chance,  and  now 
I've  got  it.  Cowardly,  is  it?  By  Heaven,  you'll 
smart  for  that !" 

And  then,  calm  and  dignified,  appeared  the  of 
ficer  in  charge,  Lieutenant  Allen.  A  glance  at 
Benny,  still  livid  and  gasping,  was  sufficient. 
"Go  for  Dr.  Brett,"  he  said  to  Ames.  Then  he 
turned  on  Jennings,  still  backed  into  the  cor 
ner,  and  confronted  there  by  his  cool  young 
captain.  "  There  seems  to  be  no  reasonable 
doubt  that  you  are  your  room-mate's  assail- 


257 


ant,  Mr.  Jennings.     You  are  placed  in  close  ar 
rest,  sir." 

Another  night,  hours  later,  the  wires  flashed 
a  message  to  the  widowed  mother,  bidding  her 
come  to  the  bedside  of  her  only  son. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

JANUARY  examinations  passed  by  without  ma 
terial  change  in  the  standing  of  those  in  whom  we 
are  most  interested,  except  in  the  case  of  Benny 
Frazier— too  ill  to  appear  before  the  Board.  For 
weeks  he  had  been  "running  down,"  and  the 
assault  at  the  hands  of  Jennings  proved  but  the 
climax  that  brought  on  a  violent  and  dangerous 
siege  of  fever.  For  clays  the  devoted  mother, 
aided  by  skilled  nurses,  was  ever  at  the  side  of 
her  stricken  boy.  Volunteers  from  his  class,  too, 
were  always  in  readiness  as  night-watchers ;  but 
almost  from  the  first  the  one  for  whom  he  called 
and  of  whom  he  moaned  in  his  delirium  was 
Geordie  Graham.  No  one  saw  the  meeting  be 
tween  the  heart-sick,  almost  hopeless  woman  and 
her  son's  earliest  friend  and  room-mate,  but  that 
she  had  been  deeply  agitated  was  plain.  From 
their  interview  she  came  forth  clinging  to  his 
arm,  leaning  on  his  strength,  and  from  that  time 
she  was  never  content  to  have  him  far  away. 
Each  day,  between  retreat  parade  and  evening 
call  to  quarters,  there  were  hours  he  could  spend 
at  Frazier's  bedside,  and  they  were  the  only 


259 


hours  in  all  the  twenty -four  that  the  feeble, 
childlike  patient  looked  forward  to  with  any 
thing  but  apathy.  For  days  his  life  hung  in  the 
balance  ;  but  when  at  last  the  crisis  came  and 
went  and  left  him  pitiably  weak  in  body  and 
spirit,  the  one  thing  he  seemed  to  cling  to  in  life 
was  Graham's  brown  and  muscular  hand. 

"  I  wonder  I  am  not  jealous,"  said  Mrs.Frazier 
to  the  doctor's  kindly  wife ;  "  but  I  thank  God 
my  poor  boy  has  such  a  friend  left  to  him,  after 
all  his  trouble — all  the  misery  into  which  that — 
that  awful  person  has  led  and  held  him." 

And  the  awful  person  was  Jennings,  who, 
shunned  like  a  pariah  by  the  corps,  was  again 
awaiting  trial  by  court-martial  as  soon  as  Fra- 
zier  should  be  able  to  testify.  For  days  it  looked 
as  though  Benny  never  could  appear  before  an 
earthly  court,  and  that  this  case,  like  the  other, 
must  go  by  default.  So  long  as  it  appeared  that 
the  fever  would  prove  fatal,  Jennings  kept  up 
his  air  of  bravado  and  confidence.  The  evidence 
of  Graham  and  Ames,  the  first  to  reach  the 
scene  of  the  assault,  would  be  sufficient  to  con 
vict  him  of  that  offence,  but  even  they  could 
prove  nothing  beyond  a  personal  row,  said  he. 
It  was  fully  understood,  however,  that  back  of 
all  this  trouble  was  the  old  case  of  Benny's  plebe 
camp,  and  that  the  assault  on  Graham  when  a 
sentry,  the  stealing  of  Graham's  rifle,  and  the  de- 


260 


sertion  of  Musician  Doyle  were  all  matters  in 
which  Jennings  was  a  prime  mover ;  and  though 
now  "  outlawed  by  the  statute" — more  than  two 
years  having  passed  since  the  occurrence  of-  these 
offences,  during  which  time  the  alleged  offender 
had  in  no  wise  sought  to  secrete  himself  from 
military  justice,  and  therefore  a  case  no  longer 
triable  by  court  -  martial  —  there  is  no  two-year 
limit  to  the  contempt  of  the  corps  of  cadets. 
They  could  send  him  to  Coventry  at  any  time, 
and  even  though  he  were  graduated  it  might  be 
impossible  to  obtain  a  commission. 

But  when  it  was  noised  about  the  battalion 
that  Benny  was  on  the  mend,  and  that,  day  after 
day,  he  looked  forward  to  nothing  as  he  did  to 
Geordie's  visit,  it  became  known  that  he  had 
made  a  full  and  frank  confession,  and  that  Jen 
nings'  was  deeply  implicated.  Interviewed  on 
this  subject,  Graham  refused  to  say  a  word ;  but 
Mrs.  Frazier  had  been  less  cautious.  It  seemed 
as  though  she  could  not  do  enough  to  undo  her 
coldness  and  injustice  to  Geordie  in  the  past,  or 
to  express  her  affection  and  regard  for  him  now. 
In  the  overflow  of  her  gratitude  and  joy,  when 
at  last  her  SOIL  was  declared  out  of  danger,  she 
told  the  story  to  sympathetic  lady  friends,  wives 
of  officers  stationed  at  the  post,  almost  as  it  had 
been  told  to  her  by  Benny,  and  it  was  not  long 
in  leaking  through  to  the  corps.  The  pent-up 


261 


wrath  of  the  battalion  is  not  a  thing  to  see  and 
forget.  The  story  flew  from  lip  to  lip.  "  Tar- 
and-feather  him !"  "  Kick  him  out !"  "  Turn 
him  loose  and  let  him  run  the  gantlet!"  were 
some  of  the  mad  suggestions,  but  Bend  and 
cooler  counsels  prevailed.  Realizing  his  peril, 
Jennings  implored  the  protection  of  the  com 
mandant,  and  was  given  a  room  in  the  officers' 
angle.  Then  the  commandant  and  adjutant 
went  with  Dr.  Brett  to  the  convalescent's  bed 
side,  and  Benny's  statement  was  reduced  to 
writing. 

A  few  days  later  the  police  of  Jersey  City  laid 
hands  on  a  precious  pair.  One  of  them  bore  the 
name  of  Peter  Peterson,  the  other  was  Doyle, 
ex -drummer,  both  wanted  for  blackmail  and 
other  offences,  and  Doyle  for  desertion.  The 
news  of  this  capture  reached  the  corps  late  in 
the  afternoon,  and  was  the  talk  of  the  whole 
mess-hall  at  supper.  Next  morning  at  breakfast 
came  sensation  still  bigger  : 

Jennings  had  fled. 

Some  time  during  the  night  he  had  packed  up 
such  things  as  he  could  carry  and  stolen  quietly 
away.  A  sentry  said  he  saw  a  young  man  in 
civilian  dress,  with  a  bag  in  his  hand,  going  clown 
towards  the  south  dock  about  11  o'clock.  He 
boarded  a  night  train  at  Cranston's  Station,  and 
that  was  all.  It  proved  the  easiest  settlement  of 


262 


a  vexed  case.  The  court-martial  turned  its  at 
tention  to  Boyle,  the  deserter,  and  Doyle  pleaded 
guilty,  for  his  was  a  case  that  was  still  triable 
because  he  had  absented  himself  ever  since  the 
desertion  occurred.  Throwing  himself  upon  the 
mercy  of  the  court,  the  boy  made  his  statement. 
He  said  that  one  evening  in  camp,  three  summers 
back,  Mr.  Jennings  was  sentry  on  Number  Three, 
and  told  him  he  wanted  him,  Doyle,  to  do  an 
errand.  Cadets  often  employed  him,  and  paid 
him  money  to  carry  notes,  or  to  buy  cigars,  or 
the  like.  It  was  arranged  that  he  was  to  be 
there,  back  of  Company  A,  about  ten  minutes 
before  tattoo,  and,  going  there,  he  found  a  rifle 
leaning  against  a  tree,  and  this  Mr.  Jennings 
bade  him  carry  out  to  a  point  near  the  east  edge 
of  the  dump  hollow,  and  look  there  in  the  weeds, 
where  he  would  find,  half  hidden,  another  one. 
The  drummers  were  allowed  to  cross  the  post 
of  Number  Three  without  question.  He  had  no 
difficulty  in  finding  and  fetching  in  the  rusty 
rifle,  and  left  the  new  rifle  in  its  place,  as  he  had 
been  told,  supposing  that  it  was  only  some  trick 
they  were  playing.  Mr.  Frazier  was  there,  in 
side  the  sentry's  post,  on  his  return,  and  received 
from  him  the  rusty  gun.  That  night,  later,  when 
he  heard  the  adjutant  and  the  cadet  captains 
talking,  he  saw  the  matter  was  serious  and  got 
scared,  and  went  out  next  day  and  "  found,"  as 


he  expressed  it,  what  he  had  left  there,  and  car 
ried  it  to  the  adjutant.  He  was  closely  ques 
tioned,  got  more  frightened,  and  wanted  to  tell 
all  he  knew;  but  Jennings  swore  he  would  be 
tried  and  sent  to  jail  as  a  thief,  and  warned  him 
the  only  safety  lay  in  secrecy.  Mr.  Frazier  gave 
him  ten  dollars  then  to  buy  his  silence,  and  prom 
ised  him  more ;  but  when  Jennings  was  put  in 
arrest  and  court  was  ordered  to  convene,  both 
Jennings  and  Frazier  were  badly  scared,  and  told 
him  there  was  no  hope  for  him  at  all  if  it  came 
to  trial,  as  they'd  have  to  testify  to  his  part  in 
the  thing,  and  that  meant  penitentiary.  Then 
old  Mr.  Frazier  came  and  had  a  talk  with  him 
down  at  the  Falls :  told  him  he  must  get  away 
to  save  himself,  gave  him  fifty  dollars,  and  prom 
ised  him  employment  and  immunity  from  arrest 
if  he  would  go  at  once.  Doyle  told  Keilly,  anoth 
er  of  the  boys,  of  his  trouble,  and  Reilly  said  he'd 
better  go.  He  got  away  all  right,  but  the  place 
Mr.  Frazier  gave  him  in  Pennsylvania  among 
the  miners  was  too  hard  work;  he  couldn't  stand 
it,  and  asked  for  more  money,  and  until  Frazier 
died  he  paid  him.  Then  there  was  no  way  but 
to  turn  to  the  cadet,  through  Reilly,  saying  he 
was  starving,  and  would  have  to  come  and  give 
himself  up  and  tell  all  about  how  the  old  man 
had  bribed  him  to  desert.  Then  all  of  a  sudden 
he  was  nabbed,  and  that  ended  it.  No !  Cadet 


264 


Frazier  had  never  suggested  desertion.     It  was 
all  Mr.  Jennings  and  the  father. 

And  Benny's  story  corroborated  much  of  poor 
Doyle's.  Jennings  had  halted  him  down  by  the 
water-tank  that  wretched  night  in  camp,  pointed 
out  how  Pops  was  being  shown  too  much  favorit 
ism  and  getting  the  "  big  head."  Jennings  put 
him  up  to  getting  Graham's  rifle — a  matter  that 
was  easily  accomplished  in  the  darkness  and  the 
deserted  street  of  Company  B ;  but  he  never 
meant  it  for  anything  more  than  a  joke,  though 
he  was  jealous  of  Graham's  success,  and  did  think 
that  he  was  having  too  much  partiality  shown 
him.  Then  when  Jennings  told  him  to  take  the 
rusty  rifle  to  the  tent  in  place  of  the  new  one, 
he  wanted  to  back  out ;  but  it  was  too  late. 
Jennings  bullied  and  threatened  him  with  ex 
posure  and  dismissal  for  stealing,  etc. — threatened 
even  then  to  call  the  corporal  of  the  guard  and 
have  him  taken  to  the  guard-house,  caught  in  the 
act.  He  was  bewildered  and  terrified,  and  ended 
by  doing  exactly  as  he  was  told.  Then  came 
that  dreadful  day  of  investigation,  followed  later 
by  Jennings' s  arrest;  and  then  Jennings  told  him 
of  their  desperate  plight,  and  bade  him  wire  for 
his  father  to  come  at  once.  Jennings  told  him 
what  to  say  to  his  father,  and  wrote  a  letter,  set 
ting  forth  what  would  happen  if  the  drum-boy 
could  not  be  "  fixed,"  and  suggesting  how  to  fix 


265 


him.  His  father  was  utterly  dismayed  at  the 
scrape  that  Benny  was  in,  and  accepted  all  Jen- 
nings's  statements.  He  did  not,  of  course,  con 
sult  any  of  the  officers,  but  carried  out  everything 
proposed  to  the  letter.  For  the  time  being  the 
boys  were  saved,  but  within  another  year  Benny 
learned  from  the  other  drum -boy,  Eeilly,  the 
one  with  whom  he  had  had  the  trouble,  that 
Doyle  had  let  the  cat  out  of  the  bag.  Then  he 
had  to  bribe  Reilly.  Then  Jennings,  too,  levied 
on  him,  and  his  father  later  on,  while  on  fur 
lough  ;  and  after  his  father's  death  poor  Benny's 
life  was  one  succession  of  torments.  Doyle, 
Reilly,  and  Jennings,  too,  "bled"  and  threatened 
him  time  and  again,  until  in  his  desperation  he 
sought  to  make  a  clean  breast  of  it  all  to  Gra 
ham.  That  night  Jennings  suspected  his  object, 
overtook  him  in  the  hall,  seized  and  choked  and 
carried  him  back,  and  nearly  finished  him  by 
strangulation  before  rescue  came.  Benny  was 
ready  to  stand  trial — suffer  any  punishment ;  but 
by  this  time  the  poor  fellow's  prostration  and 
penitence,  his  mother's  tears  and  anxiety,  and 
the  fact  that  he  had  been  throughout  the  entire 
history  of  the  affair  only  a  cat's-paw,  coupled 
with  the  reports  of  the  surgeons  that  he  was  in 
no  condition  to  face  a  trial,  all  prevailed.  It  was 
late  in  February  before  he  was  sufficiently  re 
covered  to  be  moved  about,  and  then  sick  leave 


of  absence  was  granted,  and  he  with  his  devoted 
mother  left  for  Nassau.  He  had  parted  company 
with  the  old  class  for  good  and  all,  and  was  or 
dered  to  report  in  June  and  join  the  class  below. 
March,  spring  drills,  spring  rides,  and  the  elec 
tion  of  hop  managers  for  First  Class  camp,  all 
were  upon  them  again  before  Benny  and  his 
strange  and  unhappy  experiences  had  ceased  to 
be  the  universal  topic  of  conversation.  Geordie 
had  wonderful  letters  to  write  that  month,  and 
there  had  been  an  interchange  of  missives  be 
tween  two  grateful,  prayerful  women,  one  let 
ter  leading  to  another,  until  now  Mrs.  Graham's 
weekly  budget  to  her  big  boy  was  full  of  Mrs. 
Frazier  and  the  sweet,  womanly,  motherly  let 
ters  she  wrote.  April  came,  and,  despite  his 
modest  declination  of  such  an  honor,  Geordie 
found  himself  chosen  among  the  foremost  of  the 
nine  hop  managers  for  the  coming  camp.  More 
than  that,  while  study  had  become  so  habitual  to 
him  that  he  had  risen  slowly  but  steadily  even 
in  the  most  difficult  portions  of  applied  mathe 
matics,  his  progress  in  chemistry  and  kindred 
topics  had  been  still  more  marked.  But,  better 
than  all,  he  was  now  in  the  midst  of  a  course 
wherein  no  one  in  all  the  class  was  more  thor 
oughly  at  home.  From  boyhood,  drill  and  drill 
regulations,  as  they  are  called  in  this  day — "  tac 
tics,"  as  they  were  in  his — were  matters  of  every- 


267 


day  acquaintance.  He  knew  cavalry  drill  "  from 
a  to  izzard,"  and  the  infantry  tactics  through  the 
school  of  the  battalion  thoroughly  and  well.  But 
all  the  same  he  left  no  stone  unturned,  no  para 
graph  unstudied,  before  each  day's  recitation. 
Here,  at  least,  were  subjects  in  which  he  could 
"face  the  music"  week  after  week  and  fairly 
triumph.  And  to  the  delight  of  Connell,  Winn, 
Ames,  Ross,  and  the  first  section  men  generally, 
it  was  seen  that  Geordie  was  "maxing"  steadily 
through,  never  losing  a  single  tenth  in  infantry. 

"  Go  it,  Coyote,  go  it !"  said  Connell.  "  By  jim- 
miny !  there  isn't  a  man  in  the  class  that  would 
begrudge  you  the  first  place  if  you  can  get  it." 
It  was  even  queried  whether  Ames,  to  whom 
maxing  in  anything  now  came  as  easy  as  failure 
to  some  boys,  had  not  deliberately  "slouched  off  " 
a  couple  of  points  so  as  to  secure  to  Graham  first 
mark  in  infantry ;  though,  just  to  make  sure  of 
his  own  place  in  general  standing,  he  stuck  to  a 
solid  line  of  3's  in  artillery,  Pops  following  close 
behind.  So  far  as  marks  were  concerned,  there 
fore,  Geordie  was  certain  of  high  rank  in  the 
general  subject,  for  he  was  as  thorough  in  cav 
alry  as  in  infantry.  Battery  books  alone  pre 
sented  any  novelty  to  him,  and  it  was  conceded 
that  the  June  examination  could  not  change  his 
prospects. 

Meantime,  too,  as  the  spring  wore  on,  the  mem- 


bers  of  the  Graduating  Class  seemed  to  feel  that 
it  was  due  to  themselves  to  behave  towards  Gra 
ham  with  marked  cordiality  and  regard.  Any 
body  failing  in  this  respect  might  render  himself 
liable  to  suspicion  of  being  in  some  way  con 
nected  with  the  old  Jennings  clique;  and  no 
greater  shame  attached  to  any  member  of  the 
corps  now  than  that  he  had  at  any  time  been  an 
associate  of  that  fellow,  or  even  guided  by  his 
opinion.  On  the  other  hand,  to  be  pointed  out 
as  the  one  man  in  the  corps  who  had  "  knocked 
out "  that  redoubtable  middle-weight  was  honor 
that  overtopped  the  chevrons  of  half  the  senior 
class.  No  one  doubted  that  there  were  other 
fellows  who  could  have  "  bested  "  the  representa 
tive  of  the  "  Sanguinary  Second,"  but  he  had 
wisely  refrained  from  giving  them  opportunity. 
Feeling  sure  of  Pops,  he  ventured  once  too  often, 
and  down  went  the  star  of  his  glory. 

May,  with  its  sunshine  and  showers  and  long 
languorous  days—"  the  days  of  spring  fever  and 
spring  fights,"  as  the  cadets  used  to  say— found 
the  relations  between  Geordie  and  his  company 
more  and  more  cordial.  All  through  the  year, 
with  absolute  impartiality  and  quiet  force,  he  had 
done  his  duty  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  and  Con- 
nell,  with  all  his  pride  in  "old  D,"  was  the  last 
to  claim  for  it  a  superiority  over  the  color  com 
pany.  Bend  declared  he  never  had  to  bother  his 


269 


head  about  it  at  all.  He  marched  it  out  to  pa 
rade  or  inspection,  but  his  first  sergeant  looked 
to  the  discipline.  Among  the  officers  of  the  tac 
tical  department,  too,  there  was  no  lack  of  ap 
preciation  of  the  way  in  which  "  McCrea's  plebe  " 
had  won  his  way  up  the  ladder  of  promotion, 
and  the  relative  position  of  the  cadet  officers  for 
the  coming  summer  was  already  a  problem  over 
which  the  corps  was  indulging  in  much  specula 
tion  and  the  commandant  in  no  little  thought. 
The  two  finest  positions,  as  has  been  said,  are 
those  of  first  captain  and  adjutant.  The  former 
commands  the  battalion  in  the  mess -hall  and  on 
its  way  to  and  from  the  same,  while  the  latter 
has  the  most  conspicuous  part  to  play  at  parade, 
guard-mounting,  and  the  like.  The  first  captain 
is  assigned  to  the  right  flank,  Company  A,  and 
his  responsibilities  are  great.  He  requires  dig 
nity  and  strength  of  character  beyond  the  other 
officers.  The  adjutant  should  be  a  model  in 
bearing,  carriage,  voice,  command,  but  his  duties 
are  more  picturesque  than  formidable.  As  a 
rule,  these  high  offices  —  the  captaincies,  adju 
tancy,  etc. — are  given  to  cadets  whose  scholar 
ship  and  class  standing  are  also  high  ;  for  in  the 
greater  number  of  cases  soldierly  ability  and 
character  are  there  to  be  found.  Yet  it  often 
happens  that  the  head  of  the  First  Class  is  only 
a  private  in  the  ranks,  and  the  senior  captain  or 


270 


the  adjutant  comes  from  the  other  end  of  the 
line.  When  graduation  is  close  at  hand,  how 
ever,  the  commandant  makes  out  a  list  of  the 
recommendations  for  the  coming  year,  and  this 
he  submits  to  the  superintendent.  His  wishes 
generally  carry  all  possible  weight. 

It  rarely  happens  that  the  first  captain  is  se 
lected  from  outside  the  first  sergeants  of  the  pre 
vious  year,  and  in  four  cases  out  of  five  the  office 
goes  to  the  first  sergeant  of  Company  A.  The 
sergeant-major  in  the  same  degree  is  looked  upon 
as  a  sort  of  legitimate  heir  to  the  adjutancy. 
He  has  served  as  senior  non-commissioned  officer 
for  a  year,  and  yet  has  had  no  opportunity  of 
command  other  than  the  few  seconds  required 
in  forming  the  guard.  He  may  never  have  given 
the  command  "  Forward,  march  !"  He  may  turn 
out  to  have  little  or  no  voice,  and  voice  is  some 
thing  an  adjutant  must  have.  The  first  ser 
geants,  on  the  contrary,  have  constant  use  for 
their  lungs  and  larynx  and  faculties  of  command ; 
and  it  used  to  happen  quite  frequently  that,  to 
one  of  these,  instead  of  the  sergeant-major,  the 
prize  of  the  adjutancy  was  given. 

But  there  was  no  room  for  doubt  in  Benton's 
case,  said  the  corps.  He  was  soldier  in  every 
word  and  action;  stood  one  of  the  five — sure; 
had  a  rich  resonant  voice,  that  was  good  to  hear 
in  the  cadet  choir  and  a  delight  at  the  entertain- 


271 


ment  given  the  fag  -  end  of  February  —  "  one 
hundred  days  to  June."  No  doubt,  the  plume 
and  chevrons  and  sword-knot  of  the  adjutancy 
would  be  his;  "and  no  one,"  said  Badger  and 
Coyote,  "  would  better  grace  or  deserve  it."  On 
the  score  of  the  first  captaincy  they  had  less  to 
say,  but  the  battalion  said  a  good  deal.  No  one 
quite  understood  why,  when  Ames  was  dropped 
from  third  to  sixth  corporal,  Wright  had  not 
been  dropped  from  second  to  eighth  or  even  be 
low.  He  was  a  fine,  tall,  dignified  fellow,  mass 
ive  of  voice  and  slow  of  movement,  and  a  very 
hard  student.  He  was  "dad"  of  the  class,  but 
no  longer  stood  in  the  5's.  He  was  a  fine-look 
ing  corporal  and  would  have  made  an  admirable 
color-bearer,  but  his  impressive  dignity  was  what 
lifted  him  so  high  at  the  start ;  and,  acting  as 
first  sergeant  of  Company  A  in  their  yearling 
camp  under  a  famous  captain,  he  made  no  serious 
failure,  but  could  not  compare  with  either  Gra 
ham  or  Connell  or  Winn  as  a  drill -master.  He 
was  made  first  sergeant  of  Company  A,  how 
ever,  at  the  outset ;  and  as  he  was  methodical 
and  massive,  things  looked  all  right ;  but  it  soon 
became  apparent  that  all  manner  of  "breaks" 
could  happen  before  his  eyes  and  Wright  never 
see  them.  More  than  that,  roll-call  with  him 
was  a  very  perfunctory  affair.  Time  and  again 
he  faced  about  and  reported,  "All  present,  sir!" 


272 


when  one,  two,  and  even,  as  once  happened,  six 
of  his  company  had  slept  through  reveille.  Dis 
cipline  couldn't  help  running  down  in  Company 
A ;  and  when  recitations  in  tactics  were  about 
half  over,  it  became  evident  that  Wright  was 
nowhere,  compared  with  Graham  and  Benton, 
Ames  and  Connell,  and  a  dozen  more  of  the 
class. 

"  If  Wright's  made  first  captain,  he'll  go  to 
sleep  some  day,  and  the  corps  will  march  right 
away  from  him,"  said  his  own  cadet  captain, 
who  was  a  frequent  sufferer  from  his  sergeant's 
lapses.  "  Still,  he  has  the  prestige  of  being  first 
in  Company  A  right  along,  and  nobody  can  say 
what  Colonel  Hazzard  or  the  Supe  may  do." 

But  it  was  decided  soon  enough. 

Back  from  the  beautiful  grove,  one  exquisite 
June  morning,  marched  the  jaunty  battalion, 
each  graduate  bearing  in  his  white -gloved  hand 
the  diploma  he  had  just  received  in  the  presence 
of  the  revered  old  general-in-chief,  who  for  the 
last  time  addressed  the  eager  audience  in  cadet 
gray.  Once  more  the  line  reformed  in  the  shade 
of  the  massive  elms  in  front  of  barracks.  Gray- 
and- white  and  motionless,  it  faced  the  tall  plumed 
figure  of  the  cadet  adjutant,  unfolding  the  last 
order.  Eagerly,  impetuously  a  throng  of  visit 
ors — men  and  women,  girls  and  boys — came  scur 
rying  after  and  grouping  breathlessly  among  the 


273 


trees,  all  eyes  on  one  form,  all  ears  on  one  voice. 
Though  he  win  the  highest  honors  in  the  high 
est  corps  in  the  army  of  the  United  States,  not 
for  many  a  year  will  that  young  gentleman  be 
again  the  centre  of  such  absorbed  and  universal 
regard.  Quickly  he  rattles  through  the  orders 
for  the  dispersal  of  the  Graduating  Class.  Who 
cares  for  that  ?  They  all  know  that  beforehand, 
anyway.  They'll  be  out  of  cadet  uniform  and 
into  cit's  in  ten  minutes  from  the  word  "Break 
ranks!"  Here's  what  all  ears  are  striving  to 
hear.  Listen : 


Headquarters  United  States  Military  Academy, 
WEST  POINT,  N.  Y.,  June  11,  18 — 

Orders. 
No..., 


1.  All  appointments  hitherto  existing  in  the 
battalion  of  cadets  are  hereby  annulled,  and  the 
following  substituted  in  their  stead : 

To  be  captains : 
Cadets  Graham,  Connell,  Eoss,  and  "Wlnn. 

To  be  adjutant : 
Cadet  Denton. 

To  be  quartermaster : 
Cadet  Ames. 

And  now  Pops  is  conscious  that  the  trees  are 


274 


swimming  and  he  is  getting  dizzy.  First  cap 
tain  !  first  captain !  He  f  What  will  not  mother 
say  ?  What  will  not  Bud  say  ?  It  is  almost  in 
credible.  But  he  gathers  himself  as  the  adjutant 
runs  down  the  list.  He  sees  the  smile  in  Bend's 
kind  face  as  his  loved  friend  and  captain  faces 
about,  and  for  the  last  time  says,  "  Dismiss  the 
company !"  Mechanically  his  hand  snaps  in  to 
the  shoulder  in  salute,  as  for  the  last  time  he 
jumps  the  old  rifle  up  to  the  carry,  then  steps 
to  the  front  and  faces  to  his  left,  and  finds  a 
frog  in  his  throat  as  he  gives  the  order,  for  the 
last  time,  to  the  company  he  has  so  well  handled 
throughout  the  year,  "Carry  arms!"  "Arms' 
port!"  "Break  ranks,  March!"  and  then  is 
swallowed  up  in  the  cheering,  hand  -  shaking, 
uproarious  rush  of  the  whole  battalion  j  is  lifted 
on  the  shoulders  of  a  squad  of  stalwart  fellows, 
faithful  Connell  among  them,  and  borne  trium 
phantly  down  along  the  road,  and  a  lane  is  made 
through  the  gang  of  tossing  shakoes,  and  sud 
denly  a  lithe  little  dark -eyed  fellow,  in  natty 
suit  of  summery  cits,  sends  a  white  top-hat  spin 
ning  up  into  the  overhanging  elms,  and  clasps 
Geordie's  right  in  both  his  dainty  kid -gloved 
hands.  "  Pops,  dear  old  boy,  nobody's  gladder 
than  I  am !" 

And  indeed  Frazier  looks  it. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

WHAT  a  wonderful  summer  was  that  of  Geor- 
die's  First  Class  camp !  To  begin  with,  even  the 
graduates  had  helped  shoulder  him  through  the 
sally-port  after  the  announcement  of  the  new  ap 
pointments,  and  then  turned  out  in  their  civilian 
dress,  with  canes  and  silk  umbrellas  and  all  man 
ner  of  unaccustomed,  unmilitary  "truck,"  and 
cheered  him,  as  for  the  first  time  he  swung  the 
battalion  into  column  and  marched  it  away  to 
the  mess-hall ;  and  the  new  yearlings  sliced  up 
the  white  belts  he  wore  that  day  and  divided 
them  among  their  number  "  for  luck,"  and  many 
an  appeal  came  for  the  old  first-sergeant  chevrons ; 
but  Pops  shook  his  head  at  that.  They  went  off 
by  mail  far  out  across  the  rolling  prairies  to 
Fort  Reynolds,  where,  in  his  letter  to  mother,  a 
few  modest  words  told  of  the  high  honor  con 
ferred  upon  him,  and  that  he  "  thought  it  should 
go  to  Con."  Buddie  never  waited  to  hear  the 
end  of  that  letter.  He  bolted,  hatless,  out  of  the 
house  and  down  the  line  of  officers'  quarters  to 
tell  McCrea,  shouting  the  tidings  to  everybody 
he  saw  as  he  ran.  And  McCrea  came  over  to  the 


276 


doctor's  forthwith,  and  Captain  Lane  and  his 
charming  wife  dropped  in  before  the  family 
were  half  through  tea ;  and  the  colonel  came  in 
later  to  congratulate  Mrs.  Graham,  and  so  did 
man}7  another  wife  and  mother  during  the  even 
ing,  and  it  was  a  season  of  joy  and  gladness  not 
soon  to  be  forgotten,  and  who  shall  say  what 
volume  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  and  gratitude 
went  up  with  the  loving  woman's  prayer  when 
at  last  she  could  kneel  and  pour  out  her  heart 
all  alone.  Indeed,  it  seemed,  especially  to  Bud 
die,  an  event  of  much  greater  moment  to  the 
friends  on  the  frontier  than  it  did  to  Geordie. 
His  first  concern  was  for  Connell.  Wright,  of 
course — big,  ponderous  fellow,  moving  slowly,  as 
big  bodies  always  do — could  not  be  expected  to 
come  at  once  to  congratulate  the  comrades  who 
had  stepped  over  his  head.  He  was  "let  down 
easily,"  however,  and  made  first  lieutenant  of  the 
company  instead  of  captain ;  but  he  came  over  to 
shake  hands  with  Graham  and  tell  him  it  was 
"  all  right,"  and  found  that  Connell  had  never 
left  his  chum  from  the  moment  the  battalion 
was  dismissed.  Brushing  his  way  through  the 
crowd,  the  loyal  fellow  had  almost  fought  a  pas 
sage  to  Geordie's  side.  He  could  not  bear  the 
idea  that  Graham's  triumph  should  be  clouded 
by  fear  of  Connell's  disappointment. 

"Why,  Pops,  honest  Injun,  I'd  hate  to  leave 


277 


old  D,  now  that  I've  got  to  know  them  all  so  well ; 
and  I  tell  you  candidly  if  I  expect  to  land  in  the 
Engineers  next  June  I  want  nothing  to  interfere 
with  my  studies  meantime,  and  first  captaincy 
is  a  powerful  tax  on  a  man's  time  and  thought. 
But  even  outside  of  that,  old  man,  I  believe  you 
deserve  it  more  and  will  honor  it  more  than  any 
fellow  in  the  class." 

And  with  such  friends  at  his  back,  what  young 
soldier  would  not  feel  pride  and  hope  and  confi 
dence  \  Then  came  the  close  of  the  examination, 
the  announcement  of  class  standing;  and  Geordie 
had  clambered  out  of  the  twenties  and  well  up 
into  the  teens,  standing  second  in  drill  regula 
tions  (as  they  are  called  to-day),  third  in  discipline, 
well  up  in  drawing,  though  still  in  middle  sec 
tions  in  the  philosophical  and  chemical  courses. 
Ames  was  easily  head,  Benton  third,  Eoss  fourth, 
and  Connell  fifth.  And  then  came  the  order  to 
move  into  camp,  and  our  Geordie  found  himself, 
with  his  second  lieutenant  for  mate,  occupying 
the  north  end  tent  of  the  company  officers'  row 
—the  tent  which,  three  years  before,  bucket  laden, 
and  with  shoulders  braced  and  head  erect,  he  had 
passed  and  repassed  so  many  times,  never  dream 
ing  he  should  become  so  thoroughly  and  easily 
at  home  within  the  white  walls,  into  whose  depth 
it  was  then  profanation  to  gaze. 

Meantime,  what  of  our  old  acquaintance  Ben- 


278 


ny  ?  All  through  the  months  of  his  sojourn  in 
lovely  Nassau  the  boy  had  written  regularly  to 
the  friend  of  his  plebe  days,  and  some  of  those 
letters  were  very  characteristic— so  much  so  that 
Geordie  sought  to  read  them  to  certain  of  his 
chums  by  way  of  preparing  them  for  Benny's  re 
turn  ;  but  he  found  all  but  a  very  few  members  of 
the  class  utterly  intolerant  of  Frazier.  He  had 
"  behaved  like  a  cad  and  a  coward,"  said  many 
of  their  number,  taking  their  cue  from  Connell. 
It  was  all  very  well  to  write  and  prate  about  its 
being  the  turning-point  of  his  life — starting  all 
wrong — needing  all  this  discipline  and  distress 
to  set  him  in  the  right  road.  When  he  had  re 
turned  and  shown  by  his  conduct  that  there  was 
grit  and  manliness  in  him,  all  right ;  but  the 
corps  never  did  and  never  will  accept  a  fellow  at 
his  own  valuation.  He  must  prove  his  worth. 
Benny  Frazier  might  come  it  over  tender-hearted 
women  like  Mrs.  Doctor  Brett  and  Mrs.  Hazzard 
and  Mrs.  Other  Officials  and  such  dear  old  dames 
as  Pops  himself,  but  he  must "  hoe  his  own  row 
in  the  corps  "  was  the  general  saying. 

And  so  even  Benny's  rush  to  congratulate 
Geordie  and  the  impulsive  sacrifice  of  that  im 
maculate  tile  had  softened  few  hearts.  Donning 
the  cadet  uniform  and  silently  resuming  his  place 
in  the  ranks  of  Company  B,  Frazier  strove  to 
ask  no  favors  and  resent  no  coldness.  He  was 


279 


not  tall  enough  to  join  the  grenadiers  of  Com 
pany  A.  There  was  something  pathetic  in  the 
big  dark  eyes  as  he,  a  First  Class  man  in  years, 
but  a  no  class  man  in  law,  stood  irresolute  in  the 
company  street  the  day  they  marched  into  camp. 
Yearlings  and  all  had  their  tents  chosen.  There 
was  no  welcome  for  him.  It  was  just  as  well 
that  Mrs.  Frazier  obeyed  her  boy's  injunctions 
and  kept  away  until  late  that  summer.  For  a 
fortnight  or  so,  until  the  plebes  came  into  camp, 
Benny  lived  all  alone.  Then,  assigned  to  a  tent 
with  Murray  and  Reed,  two  cadet  privates  of 
the  class  with  whom  he  had  never  had  dealings 
and  by  whom  he  was  treated  with  cold  civility, 
he  made  no  complaint,  nor  did  he  seem  to  seek 
their  better  graces.  But  Pops  never  failed  to 
hunt  him  up  if  a  day  went  by  without  Benny's 
coming  to  the  first  captain's  tent  for  a  chat.  He 
got  Eoss  to  give  Frazier  a  seat  at  his  table  in 
Grant  Hall,  and  would  have  interceded  in  other 
ways,  but  Frazier  himself  said  no.  "  I  have  head 
enough  left  to  see  that  I  have  got  to  work  out 
my  own  salvation,  Geordie,  and  you  can't  make 
them  like  me." 

And  so  the  humbled  fellow  kept  his  own  coun 
sel,  hearing  some  pretty  hard  things  occasional 
ly,  but  saying  nothing.  The  former  terror  of 
the  plebes  in  nowise  meddled  with  them  now. 
Mourning  for  his  father  was  sufficient  reason  for 


280 


not  attending  the  hops  which,  despite  his  mana 
gership,  Pops  himself  very  frequently  failed  to 
visit.  It  was  lonely  work  going  on  guard  as  the 
sole  representative  of  an  absent  class,  but  Fra- 
zier  made  no  remonstrance.  There  were  little 
points  in  which  he  could  not  overcome  the  sloth 
ful  tendencies  of  his  earlier  days.  He  was  some 
times  late  or  unprepared,  but  he  took  his  reports 
without  a  murmur  and  walked  post  like  a  man. 

The  summer  wore  on.  Up  with  the  dawn, 
out  in  the  sun  and  the  breeze  from  morn  till 
night,  hastening  from  one  brisk  martial  exercise 
to  another,  sometimes  in  saddle  commanding  a 

'  O 

platoon  in  the  roar  and  dash  of  battery  drill, 
sometimes  a  division  in  the  school  of  the  battal 
ion,  sometimes  at  the  great  guns  of  the  sea-coast 
battery,  waking  the  echoes  of  the  Highlands  with 
the  thunder  of  their  report  and  the  shriek  of  the 
shells  towards  Target  Point,  sometimes  on  the 
firing-line  of  the  skirmishers,  Geordie  seemed  to 
broaden  with  every  day,  and  as  first  captain  he 
was  vigilance  itself.  "  Even  in  Rand's  day  you 
never  saw  better  order  or  discipline  in  the  hall 
or  in  the  ranks,"  said  Connell,  "  and  the  best  of 
it  is,  the  battalion  wants  to  do  as  he  wishes." 

"  Coyote  &  Badger's  a  close  corporation  "  was 
yet  the  saying  in  the  corps,  and  it  was  fun  to  the 
First  Class  to  hail  their  senior  captains  by  these 
Far  Western  titles.  One  thing  that  neither  of 


281 


them  would  stand,  however,  was,  that  any  un 
der  classman  should  refer  to  Geordie  as  "  Pops." 
That  pet  name  was  reserved  for  the  family  and 
very  intimate  friends. 

Connell,  to  be  sure,  was  one  of  the  gallants  of 
the  corps  all  the  summer  through,  and  to  Geor- 
die's  keen  delight  his  Badger  chum  seemed  to  be 
universally  popular  in  society,  and  though  their 
tents  were  at  opposite  flanks,  as  were  their  posts 
in  line  of  battle,  they  were  seldom  far  apart  when 
off  duty.  The  two,  with  Benton,  formed  what 
Ames  sometimes  referred  to  as  the  Cadet  Trium 
virate.  Benton  made  a  capital  adjutant,  and  the 
parades  attracted  crowds  of  visitors  that,  as  Au 
gust  evenings  grew  longer,  could  hardly  be  ac 
commodated. 

Benny  stopped  one  evening  in  front  of  the 
tent  to  say  that  his  mother  would  be  up  on  the 
morrow.  "  I  have  been  calling  at  Dr.  Brett's  this 
afternoon,  and  they  expect  their  relief  next  week. 
They've  been  here  four  years,  you  know." 

It  set  Geordie  to  thinking.  Medical  officers  of 
the  army  are  seldom  if  ever  kept  more  than  four 
years  at  any  one  station,  and  his  father  had  now 
been  at  Fort  Reynolds  fully  five.  Nearly  all  his 
professional  life  had  been  spent  in  the  Far  West. 
Three  or  four  years  he  had  been  shifted  about 
so  rapidly  and  continuously  that  it  was  in  par 
tial  recompense  he  had  been  retained  so  long  at 


this  big  and  pleasant  post.  "  It  must  be  about 
time  for  him  to  be  shifted  again,"  thought  Geor- 
die,  "  and  now  it's  bound  to  be  somewhere  in  the 
Division  of  the  Atlantic."  Odd !  not  for  a  whole 
month  had  the  subject  been  mentioned  in  any  of 
his  home  letters.  His  father  rarely  wrote  more 
than  a  brief  note ;  his  mother  never  less  than 
eight  pages;  and  Bud's  productions,  curious  com 
positions,  were  ever  a  delight  to  his  big  brother. 
But  none  of  these  had  of  late  made  any  reference 
to  change  of  station.  How  Geordie  wished  they 
might  come  East  and  visit  the  Academy  now ! 

One  week  later,  and  the  28th  of  August  was  at 
hand.  Camp  was  crowded,  for  the  noisy  fur 
lough-men  returned  at  noon,  and  were  bustling 
about,  making  absurd  pretence  at  having  for 
gotten  how  to  get  into  their  "  trimmings,"  and 
calling  for  some  generous  Fourth-hearted  Class 
man  to  come  and  aid  them.  Visitors  were  swarm 
ing  all  over  the  post.  Hosts  of  pretty  girls  had 
come  for  the  closing  hop,  and  the  hotels  were 
crowded  to  suffocation. 

"  Your  mother  promised  to  '  sit  out '  three 
dances  with  me,  Benny,"  said  Pops,  as  he  wound 
himself  into  his  sash,  cadet  fashion,  as  the  first 
drum  beat  for  parade.  "  Tell  her  I  shall  come 
early  to  claim  them."  How  he  envied  the  boy 
his  mother's  presence!  Frazier  nodded  as  he 
sped  away  to  get  into  his  belts,  but  with  a  light 


283 


in  his  eyes  and  a  laugh  in  his  heart — very  little 
like  the  Benny  of  the  year  gone  by. 

"  Does  Graham  make  as  fine  a  first  captain  as 
we  thought  he  would?"  asked  a  returned  fur 
lough  sergeant  of  one  of  the  seniors,  as  they 
stood  watching  him  quietly  chatting  with  Ben- 
ton  before  the  beat  of  the  second  drum. 

"  Tip-top !  I  don't  think  there  ever  was  a  bet 
ter  one.  But  from  the  instant  he  draws  sword 
in  command  of  that  battalion  he  doesn't  know 
anybody." 

Again  the  long  line  stretched  beyond  the 
flank  sentry  posts,  and  last  parade  in  camp  went 
off  with  the  usual  snap  and  spirit  in  face  of 
hundreds  of  interested  lookers-on.  For  the  last 
time  on  that  familiar  sward  the  plumed  cadet 
officers  of  Geordie's  class  marched  to  the  front 
and  saluted  the  commander,  then  scattered  to 
their  companies,  while  the  visitors  hastened  to 
the  waiting  vehicles  on  the  surrounding  roads. 
No  time  could  be  lost  this  evening.  It  was  that 
of  the  final  hop.  Ten  minutes  later,  rifles,  sha- 
koes,  and  equipments  laid  aside,  the  battalion 
reformed  on  the  color-line,  the  officers  sprang 
to  their  posts,  the  field-music,  still  in  full  parade- 
dress  and  white  trousers,  took  station  at  the  left 
of  the  long  gray  line.  Geordie  whipped  the  light 
cadet  sword  from  its  scabbard,  and  his  voice, 
deep  and  powerful,  rang  out  the  commands. 


284 


"  Continue  the  march.  Companies  left  wheel, 
march  /" 

Drums  and  fifes  burst  instantly  into  the  live 
liest  quickstep.  Eight  beautiful  fronts,  each  piv 
oting  on  its  left,  accurate  and  steady  as  sections 
of  some  perfect  machine,  came  swinging  around 
into  column.  "  Forward,  march  !  Guide  right !" 
and  then,  "  Column  half  right !"  as  the  leading 
subdivision  completed  the  wheel.  And  now  away 
they  go  over  the  level  Plain,  heading  for  the  leaf- 
embowered  gap  between  the  chapel  and  the  old 
Academic,  each  subdivision  led  by  its  lieutenant 
commanding,  Connell,  Koss,  and  Winn  marching 
as  field  officers  on  the  guiding  flank,  Geordie 
commanding  all.  Group  after  group  of  the  gayly- 
dressed  visitors  opened  out  to  let  them  through. 
The  sword  arms  of  the  young  captains  brush 
close  to  dainty  girlish  forms  those  very  arms 
have  encircled  in  the  dance,  and  pretty  faces  are 
smiling  into  the  eyes  of  those  swarthy,  sunburned 
young  warriors  in  whom  it  would  be  "  unmilita- 
ry  "  to  show  sign  of  recognition  now.  The  head 
of  the  column  reaches  the  cross-road  at  the  foot 
of  the  Plain,  and,  "  Column  half  left !"  Geordie's 
voice  rings  out  across  the  level  and  comes  echo 
ing  back  from  the  gray  Avails  beyond,  and  the 
groups  of  spectators  fall  farther  back  —  all  but 
one  which,  escorted  by  Colonel  Hazzard  and  Dr. 
Brett,  stands  at  the  edge  of  the  road  at  the  path- 


285 


way  just  under  the  beautiful  elms.  A  lady  with 
soft  blue  eyes  is  clinging  to  the  colonel's  arm 
and  trembling,  despite  her  every  effort.  Close 
beside  her  stands  a  grizzled,  weather-beaten,  sol 
dierly-looking  man  in  tweeds,  one  hand  on  the 
shoulder  of  a  ruddy -faced  young  fellow  who  is 
evidently  in  high  excitement.  Just  back  of  them 
Mrs.  Frazier,  her  dark  eyes  brimming,  is  resting 
on  the  arm  of  Dr.  Brett.  Company  after  com 
pany  comes  up  to  the  wheeling-point  and  changes 
direction  almost  in  front  of  them,  and  then,  his 
eyes  fixed  on  his  leading  guide  to  see  that  each 
sergeant  in  succession  gets  his  trace  the  instant 
the  wheel  is  completed,  here  comes  the  brawny, 
blue-eyed  first  captain.  These  returning  furlough- 
men  are  apt  to  be  a  trifle  careless  in  marching, 
and  he  means  to  bring  them  into  shape  without 
an  instant's  delay.  He  seems  to  see  nothing  out 
side  his  command,  but  when  within  a  dozen  yards 
suddenly  he  catches  sight  of  the  uniforms  and  of 
his  colonel.  Instantly,  as  soldierly  etiquette  de 
mands,  the  blue  eyes  are  fixed  on  the  command 
ing  officer ;  up  comes  the  gleaming  blade  in  the 
first  motion  of  the  salute,  and  then — then — what 
wondrous  light  is  that  that  all  on  a  sudden  flames 
— transfigures  the  brave,  sun-tanned  face  ?  What 
wild  amaze,  doubt,  certainty,  delight,  all  in  a  sin 
gle  second,  flash  into  his  eyes !  What  pride  and 
joy !  what  love  and  longing !  For  there,  so  close 


286 


that  he  can  almost  hear  the  whisper  of  his  name 
and  feel  the  spray  of  the  joy-tears  that  brim  in 
her  eyes,  stands  mother;  there  stands  Buddie, 
fairly  quivering  with  eagerness ;  and  there  stands 
his  father,  sturdily  striving  not  to  look  proud. 
With  every  mad  longing  tugging  at  his  heart  and 
tearing  him  from  his  duty  to  her  arms,  he  as  sud 
denly  regains  his  self-control,  lowers  his  sword  in 
salute,  as  soldier  should,  and  only  quits  his  grasp 
upon  the  hilt  and  leaps  to  her  side  at  the  colonel's 
smiling  order : 

"  Fall  out,  sir  ;  Mr.  Connell  takes  command." 

"  If  that  wasn't  a  low-down  trick  to  play  on 
Coyote,  I  never  heard  of  one,"  said  Harry  Winn 
that  night  at  supper.  "  Old  Scad  never  evolved 
a  harder  test.  Think  of  parading  a  fellow's 
mother  at  the  saluting  point  when  he  hadn't  seen 
her  for  a  whole  year,  just  to  prove  that  he's  such 
a  soldier  he  couldn't  forget  himself  even  then." 

There  were  lots  of  boys  in  gray  who  believed 
the  whole  thing  was  a  "  put-up  job  "  to  settle  a 
bet  among  the  officers,  but  they  couldn't  prove  it. 

Over  the  details  of  that  meeting  we  need  not 
linger.  Ordered  to  assume  the  duties  of  surgeon 
at  West  Point,  Dr.  Graham  was  urged  by  McCrea 
and  others  to  give  Geordie  no  warning,  but  keep 
it  all  as  a  delightful  surprise.  Neither  he  nor  his 
gentle  wife,  however,  ever  dreamed  of  its  being 
carried  to  the  point  it  was.  That  night  when 


287 


Grant  Hall  was  crowded,  and  pretty  girls  in  the 
daintiest  of  gowns  were  dancing  with  cavaliers  in 
gray  and  white,  in  blue  and  gold,  or  conventional 
black,  when  music  and  merry  laughter  and  glad 
voices  all  conspired  to  banish  care,  there  was  one 
couple  in  whose  faces — one  so  sweet,  so  tender, 
so  full  of  pride  in  the  stalwart  son  on  whose  arm 
she  leaned — there  shone  a  radiance  that  chal 
lenged  and  then  was  reflected  in  every  eye. 

"  She  makes  me  think  of  Ailie  in  '  Rab  and  his 
Friends,'"  said  Lieutenant  Allen,  as  he  and  a 
group  of  his  fellows  stood  watching  them  slowly 
circling  the  room. 

Man  after  man  of  Geordie's  class  came  up  to 
be  presented  by  her  big  boy,  whose  cup  seemed 
fairly  overflowing.  While  Bud,  painfully  con 
scious  of  the  rapidly  liquefying  state  of  his  first 
pair  of  kids,  followed  his  brother  with  adoration 
in  his  eyes,  and  Mrs.  Frazier,  still  in  deep  mourn 
ing,  could  not  deny  herself  the  delight  of  peeping 
in  from  the  arched  entrance,  where  she  and  Benny 
stood  for  half  an  hour,  "just  to  see  how  happy 
Mrs.  Graham  looked." 

Bless  the  mother  heart !  How  much  joy  there 
was  for  her  after  the  long  exile  of  the  frontier 
and  the  three  years'  separation  from  her  first 
born.  Speedily  they  were  settled  in  their  new 
home  overlooking  the  bright  blue  ribbon  of  the 
Hudson,  winding  down  between  its  bold  and 


beautiful  shores.  From  her  windows  she  could 
see  the  front  of  the  gray  mess-hall,  and  day  after 
day  hear  the  tramp  of  the  battalion  as  it  came 
marching  down  and  Geordie's  deep  voice  ringing 
out  the  words  of  command.  She  used  to  drop 
her  needle-work  and  bustle  Buddie,  all  too  will 
ing,  from  his  lessons,  and  trip  away  to  the  Caval 
ry  Plain  to  watch  the  evolutions  at  squadron  drill 
and  see  her  boy — no  finer  horseman  among  them 
all — swinging  his  sabre  at  the  head  of  the  first 
platoon,  or  in  the  wintry  days  that  speedily  set 
in,  slashing  at  the  heads  in  the  riding -hall,  and 
with  his  nimble  fellows  wrestling,  vaulting,  leap 
ing  high  hurdles,  and  easily  accomplishing  feats, 
bare-back  or  in  saddle,  that  made  her  often  shud 
der  and  turn  her  eyes  away.  She  loved  to  stroll 
out  under  the  arching  elms  to  meet  him  for  a  few 
brief  minutes  between  evening  drill  and  parade, 
and  then  watch  him  and  Connell  putting  their 
splendidly-drilled  companies  through  all  manner 
of  evolutions,  as  they  marched  them  out  to  the 
spirited  music  of  the  band.  She  soon  learned  the 
ways  of  the  corps,  and  loved  to  have  a  whole 
squad  of  the  seniors  down  to  tea  each  Saturday 
evening,  and  was  sure  to  secure  the  presence  of 
such  young  damsels  as  lingered  about  the  Point, 
so  as  to  make  it  interesting  and  joyous  for  his 
comrades.  Perhaps  she  would  have  been  less 
venturesome  had  she  been  less  sure  of  Pops,  but 


AND    SEE   HER   BOY    AT    THE    HEAD    OF    THE    FIUST    PLATOON 


the  class  declared,  "  Coyote  is  spooney  over  his 
mother  and  nobody  else."  She  had  dreaded  the 
day  that  was  to  take  him  from  her  arms  to  the 
Point.  Now  it  seemed  as  though  all  too  soon  the 
day  was  coming  that  would  take  him  from  the 
Point,  and  from  her,  back  to  the  far  frontier 
he  loved  so  well.  The  winter  fairly  flew  awTay. 
The  spring -tide  came,  and  she  almost  wept  the 
day  the  ice-gorge  went  whirling  down  the  Hud 
son  and  the  whole  corps  cheered  it  from  the 
banks  above.  And  the  thunder  of  the  guns  at 
the  April  drills,  the  volleying  of  the  skirmish-lines 
in  May,  were  sounds  that  brought  distress  to  her 
fond  heart,  for  they  told  of  still  another  week  or 
month  passed  by,  and  only  a  little  space  reserved 
in  which,  every  blessed  sun,  she  could  have  her 
big  boy  at  her  side. 

She  went  with  many  another  to  hear  the  June 
examinations.  She  would  not  confess  it  for  the 
world,  but  if  there  were  only  a  subject  in  which 
Geordie  could  be  declared  deficient  and  turned 
back  to  go  over  the  whole  year,  she  would  have 
heard  the  order  without  a  tear.  He  had  done 
so  well,  however,  that  her  friends  assured  her 
Geordie  would  be  recommended  for  the  artil 
lery,  into  which  he  had  no  desire,  however,  to  go. 
She  had  Mrs.  Frazier  with  her  now,  and  at  last 
Benny  seemed  to  be  coming  into  favor  again. 
He  had  asked  no  clemency.  He  had  gone  on 

19 


290 


just  as  Geordie  suggested,  and,  winning  his  rank 
in  the  5's  of  the  Second  Class,  he  won  what  was 
worth  far  more — a  gradual  restoration  to  confi 
dence  in  the  corps  of  cadets. 

And  then  McCrea  came  East  on  his  first  long 
leave,  and,  mind  you,  he,  an  old  cadet  captain, 
never  lost  one  point  of  Geordie's  work  as  com 
mander  of  Company  A.  One  exquisite  evening 
the  long  line  formed  for  last  parade.  Many  and 
many  a  tear -dimmed  eye  could  be  seen  among 
the  ladies  looking  on.  The  strains  of  "  Auld  Lang 
Syne  "  were  too  much  for  Mrs.  Graham  ;  but  she 
hung  a  little  back,  and  by  the  time  the  brave, 
bright  rank  of  sixty  young  soldiers  came  striding 
to  the  front  to  salute  the  commandant  and  re 
ceive  his  brief  word  of  congratulation  to  them  as 
the  Graduating  Class,  she  was  ready  to  smile  up 
into  Geordie's  face  as  he  hastened  to  seek  her 
first  of  all,  and  then,  with  his  comrades,  stand 
uncovered  to  receive  the  salute  to  them  as  grad 
uates,  tendered  by  the  marching  companies  on 
their  way  to  barracks.  She  sat  well  back  among 
the  throng  of  visitors  and  dignitaries  on  the 
flag-draped  platform  when,  one  after  another, 
the  class  came  forward  from  the  throng  of  gray- 
coats  to  receive  the  long  -  coveted,  hard  -  earned 
diploma.  She  saw  Ames,  "  as  head  of  the  school," 
greeted  with  ringing  applause  by  the  whole  bat 
talion  as  he  faced  about  to  rejoin  them.  She 


291 


saw  gallant  Conn  ell,  third  in  rank,  and  sure,  as  he 
hoped,  of  the  Engineers,  turn  again  to  his  fellows, 
for  the  last  time,  to  be  followed  to  his  seat  by  a 
storm  of  hand-clapping  that  told  of  the  faith  and 
honor  in  which  they  held  him.  And  then  man 
after  man  received  his  diploma,  none  lacking 
kind  and  cordial  greeting  from  the  corps,  but 
arousing  no  such  clamor  as  that  evoked  by  Con- 
nell.  Numbers  twelve  and  thirteen  and  fourteen 
went  back,  each  with  his  ribboned  prize,  and 
then  her  heart  beat  hard  in  the  pause  that  pre 
ceded  the  next  name.  She  knew  just  where  it 
would  come ;  but  how  could  she  dream  what 
would  follow  ?  "  Graham  !"  called  the  secretary, 
and,  plumed  hat  in  hand,  her  Geordie  rose,  and 
with  him,  as  one  man,  up  rose  the  corps — class 
mates  and  comrades,  furlough  -  men,  yearlings, 
and  all.  She  never  heard  — I  doubt  if  Geordie 
could  hear — the  brief  soldierly  words  of  the  su 
perintendent  in  all  the  tumult  that  followed. 
Pops  bit  his  lip  and  strove  to  control  himself,  as 
he  turned  at  the  top  step  to  "  face  the  music " 
and  to  meet  the  eye  of  every  member  of  his 
year's  command  and  such  a  whirlwind  of  cheers 
as  he  had  never  heard  before.  Springing  down, 
he  strove  to  regain  his  old  place  in  their  midst ; 
but  there  was  Connell,  shouting  with  the  rest,  and 
Benny,  stamping  and  clapping  and  pounding, 
and  somebody  grabbed  him  on  one  side  and 


somebody  else  on  the  other,  and  away  went  his 
plume,  and  he  threw  up  his  hand  waving  silence, 
only  to  be  cheered  the  louder,  for  up  on  the  plat 
form  were  bald-headed  members  of  the  Board  of 
Visitors,  magnates  of  the  staff,  and  McCrea  and 
his  friends,  all  applauding,  too.  For  once  and  at 
last  the  corps  defied  their  old  first  captain,  and 
would  not  down.  Buddie  fairly  cried  with  ex 
citement,  and  the  tears,  unfettered  now,  rained 
down  the  mother's  cheeks.  The  doctor  slipped 
away  from  the  rear  of  the  platform,  and  he  was 
found  pacing  up  and  down  behind  the  library 
just  as  they  found  him  on  the  river-bank  long 
years  before,  the  evening  of  the  last  whipping 
he  had  ever  given  Pops.  Geordie  looked  for 
him  in  vain  when,  a  little  later,  the  ceremonies 
over,  he  placed  his  diploma  in  his  mother's  hand, 
and  bent  and  kissed  her  cheek.  "Keep  it  for 
me  while  I  go  to  change  my  dress,"  he  whispered. 
"  You  are  the  last  to  say  good-bye  to  the  gray. 
Come  close  to  the  first  division,  so  that  you  may 
be  the  first  to  greet  me  in  cits.  And,  mother, 
don't  you  dare  —  don't  you  dare  call  me  lieu 
tenant." 

And  so,  leaving  her  with  McCrea,  laughing 
with  a  world  of  gladness,  he  broke  away,  his 
heart  too  full  for  further  words,  his  eyes  brim 
ming  at  the  thought  of  all  the  love  and  pride 
and  blessing  in  her  face,  and  up  the  steps  he 


293 


sprang,  halting  one  instant  to  wave  his  hand  to 
her;  then  into  the  cool  depths  of  the  hall  he 
darted,  and  we  have  had  our  last  peep  at  the 
gray-clad  form  of  Corporal  Pops. 


THE   END 


BY  ELIZABETH  B.  CUSTEE. 


FOLLOWING  THE  GUIDON.  Illustrated.  Post  8vo, 
Cloth,  Ornamental,  $1  50. 

The  story  is  a  thrillingly  interesting  one,  charmingly  told. 
.  .  .  Mrs.  Custer  gives  sketches  photographic  in  their  fidelity 
to  fact,  and  touches  them  with  the  brush  of  the  true  artist  just 
enough  to  give  them  coloring.  It  is  a  charming  volume. — Bos 
ton  Traveller. 

Mrs.  Custer  has  the  faculty  of  making  her  reader  see  and 
feel  with  her.  .  .  .  The  whole  country  is  indebted  to  Mrs.  Cus 
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almost  passed  away. — Boston  Advertiser. 

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Mrs.  Custer  does  not  obtrude  the  fact  that  sunshine  and  solace 
went  with  her  to  tent  and  fort,  but  it  inheres  in  her  narrative 
none  She  less,  and  as  a  consequence  "  these  simple  annals  of 
our  daily  life,"  as  she  calls  them,  are  never  dull  nor  uninterest 
ing. — Evangelist,  N.  Y. 

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